Marion
by crashdevil
Summary: Dean's twin sister was kidnapped when they were 4 years old, leaving him to believe she was killed. She shows back up in the middle of the Apocalypse. How will she react to the men her brothers became? Eventual Castiel/OFC. Set in Season 5, post Song Remains The Same.
1. Chapter 1

I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE STORYLINE!

Author's note- I have been writing this for a while. I wanted a Castiel fic but not a Destiel fic, which is mostly what I could find. Not that I have any problem with Destiel but it's nice to read something else. I was wary to post it (it didn't seem the most popular idea) but I found a fic called Nobody in Particular which was similar that had awesome reviews so I thought, why not type it up. R&R, no flames please! My sensitive ego can't take it!)

Summary: Marion Winchester was taken from her family when she was 4 years old. Her twin brother, Dean, never thought he'd see her again. What is he to think when she suddenly shows back up in the midst of the Apocalypse. Spoilers for Season 5.,

C-h-a-p-t-e-r-O-n-e

Dean pulled his ringing cell phone out of his pocket and sighed. Phone calls from Bobby rarely brought good news anymore. It was always "the angels are doing this horrible thing" or "Lucifer is doing this slightly more horrible thing" or "you idjit! What horrible thing are you doing?". Dean almost let it go to voicemail, wondering if he even cared what horribleness is going down. At the last second, he flipped the phone open.

"Yeah, Bobby."

"Dean, uh, I just got a news alert from Lawrence. They found Marion."

Dean clenched his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Any leads on her killer?" He asked.

"You misunderstand me, boy. She's alive."

"What?!" Dean exclaimed, only half trying to not wake Sam asleep in the next bed over.

"According to the article, the scum that had her started giving her house privileges. They let her out of the basement a few months ago. Guess they thought that Stockholm Syndrome woulda kicked in after 25 years. She did what they asked of her for a few months until they weren't watching her for a few minutes. Then she grabbed a knife and stabbed one of them in the stomach. He lived but she got out. The article says that she's in police custody until they can assess her mental state and find some family to take her in."

Dean tried to find some words to say. "I'm not quite sure what to do here, Bobby."

"What do you mean, you're not sure? You get in that car and go save your sister, you idjit!" Dean sighed and nodded.

"You're right. It's just... the timing sucks. But I'll get over there as soon as possible. Thanks for letting me know."

Dean hung up the phone and dropped his feet out of bed. He started trying to simultaneously get dressed and pack his bag. He walked over and hit Sam. "Wake up, dude. We gotta go. Now."

Sam stirred and blinked up at Dean. "Is it Lucifer or a case?"

Dean shook his head. He clenched his teeth then relaxed. "No. You remember... you remember me and Dad telling you about... about Marion?"

Sam rubbed the sleep from his face. "Uh, yeah. You were at a park a few months before I was born. Dad went to get you guys ice cream and Marion disappeared."

"She's been in Lawrence the whole time. Sam, she's been chained up in some pervert's basement for almost 30 goddamn years. Cops are holding her at the hospital to make sure they didn't completely fry her brain. Come on, we gotta-"

"Wait, Dean." Sam interrupted, sitting up. "Before we drive halfway across the country, we gotta ask ourselves a few questions."

"Like what?" Dean asked, irritated.

"Like, isn't the timing a bit suspicious? We're in the middle of the Apocalypse, we're ganking demons and horsemen, we've both got angels chasing us who'd do anything to get us to be their vessels and suddenly your twin who's been missing longer than I've been alive shows back up?"

Dean didn't respond. He just walked past Sam into the tiny motel bathroom and began brushing his teeth.

"And let's say she passes the tests. She's not some demon or a shifter or something, it's really her. What do we tell her? Mom and Dad are dead, she's never even met me and the last time she saw you, you were both still in Pull-ups. What do we tell her about our lives that won't break her fragile psyche more than whatever was done to her in that house?"

"We'll figure something out." Dean said, spitting foam into the sink. "We'll tell her as little as we can at first so we don't freak her out, then we'll ease into the rest of it, like how mom and dad died."

"Dean, it's not like we can just bring her with us. She doesn't have the training we had. She wouldn't be safe traveling with us. Besides, Dean, we really have other things we need to focus on."

Dean threw his bag on the table. "This isn't up for discussion. She's my twin sister, Sam, and I haven't seen her in 27 years. I don't care if it's difficult to explain our life. I don't care if we have to take some time to train her to survive. She's a big part of our family that I thought we'd never see again. She's family. We're going."

Sam knew better than to keep arguing with him. Even if he didn't know how stubborn his brother was, he'd taken an intro Psych class at Stanford that taught him about the bond between twins. The loss of his twin could actually account for more of Dean's distance and coldness than how they were raised. Sam just nodded and started getting dressed.

They spent the drive in relative silence, Dean's old Zeppelin cassette joining forces with the Impala's engine to fill the emptiness that was slowly getting more tense with each mile. Dean's mind kept vacillating between excitement and anguish. He was happy to be able to see his sister again, but what if she was broken by those people? What if she can't handle how the Winchester's lives had turned out? What if she was a ploy from the angels? 'Look what we can give you. Just say yes to Michael.' Or worse, a chance for Lucifer to keep tabs on Sam. Dean didn't want to think about the possibility that his sister might be some demon in disguise but he had to consider all the ways this could fuck him in the ass.

It took them 18 hours to get to Lawrence. Dean didn't even bother driving them to a motel, pulling right into the hospital parking lot. He all but ran into the building and up to the reception desk. "My name is Dean Winchester. I, uh, hope I'm in the right place but..."

"You're here for Marion." She said, with a smile. "I'm just gonna need some ID and then we can take you up there. She's in our psych ward. Don't worry, though. We've just had her under observation, that's all."

Dean handed her his ID, then followed her as she started walking away.

"So, how is she?" Sam spoke up.

"Well, you'd really have to talk to her doctor for that, but... the way I hear it, no one has ever seen someone go through what she did and come out so... well adjusted." The nurse said, leading them onto an elevator.

"Well-adjusted?" Sam asked.

"That's a good thing, Sammy. Don't sound so upset." Dean said. Sam kept to himself the thought that well-adjusted was suspicious.

"She claims that the people she was with didn't really harm her, they just kept her. The female kidnapper even home schooled her. She really just wants to go home now, so I'm sure she will be ecstatic to see you boys."

Dean looked into the window on the door the nurse stopped in front of. He took a deep breath as he looked in on his sister. Her dark blonde hair was so long that it touched the bed she was sitting on. They had her in the plain white scrubs of the other psych patients. The nurse opened the door and ushered the boys inside. Marion looked up. "Yes?"

"I've got some visitors for you, Marion."

She looked up at Dean skeptically, two sets of hazel-green eyes meeting each other. "Can I help you?"

Disbelief stopped Dean in his place for a minute before he smiled. "Break my heart, Marion. Only woman to ever forget my face and it's my twin sister? You're killin' me."

Marion looked confused as she stood from the bed, never taking her eyes off of Dean. "Dean? Oh, my- They told me you were dead!" She said, wrapping her arms around him. She was just a few inches shorter than him so the hug was evenly matched. She pulled back and looked at him.

"They drove me past the house. I could see the scorch marks. They said there was a fire, that everyone died."

Dean shook his head. "There was a fire. A little under a year after they took you. But Mom's the only one who didn't get out. Me, and Dad and Sammy, we survived."

"Sammy?" Marion asked, brow furrowed.

Dean smiled. "Yeah. I guess you probably don't remember but Mom was pregnant when you got grabbed. Our little brother, Sam. That's your cue to introduce yourself, Sammy."

Sam walked forward from his spot by the door. Marion chuckled. "This Sasquatch is our baby brother? He must take after Dad." She said, wrapping her arms around him, too.

"I'm glad you're ok, Marion. It's, uh, really great to meet you."

"Hey, I'm gonna see if I can find your doctor, see when we can get you out of here." Dean said, walking out the door.

"So, uh, the nurse we spoke to, she said that the people who took you weren't abusive, that they even home schooled you?" Sam asked, eyeing the big stack of books on the only surface in the room.

"Oh, yeah. Mister and Missus were never really mean to me unless I talked about leaving. Missus taught me all the way up to when I would have graduated high school, then she just gave me college text books for the subjects I most enjoyed. Mostly history and British literature." Marion said, picking up a large book of poems.

"I know this might sound a bit Stockholm-y but I don't think they were bad people. They never blatantly harmed me. Quite the opposite, actually, they shared the delusion that God had told them to take me, to protect me. They were the most God-fearing people I've ever heard of and I'm sure that, were it not for the sickness in their heads, they would have been wonderful, charitable people."

"God told them to take you?" Sam asked, sad that he'd been right to be suspicious. He also wasn't looking forward to telling Dean.

"They seemed sure of it. Couldn't tell me what they were saving me from but they knew they were saving me. I know religion is a touchy subject but to think that God would have his angels swoop down and tell two people to steal a 4 year old from her parents is just absurd."

Sam watched her set the poetry back on the table. "Maybe the angels did it because _they_ wanted you away from us, not God." He said, turning to the door as Dean walked back in. "Hey, Dean. Can I talk to you outside real quick?"

Sam followed Dean out into the hall and closed the door. "Marion just told me that the couple who took her said they were instructed to... by God... more specifically, angels."

Dean punched the wall on the opposite side of the hall. "I was really hoping this would just be a good thing and not some stupid angel ploy." He pulled his phone from his pocket and angrily flipped it open. "Cas, Lawrence, Kansas. Sacred Heart Hospital, 6th floor." Dean demanded, before hanging up.

Castiel appeared in front of them within seconds. "I knew nothing of this, Dean." Castiel defended, without provocation.

"Yeah? Then, how'd you know what I was calling about?" Dean's jaw tensed in anger.

"I was informed that Zachariah recently traveled into the past. I was looking into the reasons behind this, when I found out about your sister. I knew they must be connected and your call confirmed that. Again, I didn't know about it."

Dean ran his fingers through his hair. "So, what do you think was the point, Cas? Why do you think Zach took my sister from me?"

Castiel looked down. "He didn't, Dean, take her. Technically, he's giving her to you. Before he went back in time, before he convinced the Cornwells to take her, she was meant to run into the street and be struck by a vehicle... the very day she was taken. I'm not sure why he's chosen to bring her into your life but perhaps you should ask her."

All color left Dean's face. "She was gonna die?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Zachariah didn't change anything, really. You would have dealt with her death exactly as you did her disappearance. Again, only Zachariah knows why he saved her, but perhaps Marion can shed a little light on the situation." Castiel said, gesturing toward the door.

Author's note- So, I have no clue how long this chapter is. I'm typing it up on my phone, but I think it's a sufficient chapter length. I've got plenty more, but it's all on paper so it'll take a while to type it on my phone. Good reviews and I'll be more inclined to spend the time to type :). Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note- Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! It makes me a happy Crashy. Also, sorry it's taken so long to get this up. I'm still typing on my phone. Anyway, enjoy!

C~h~a~p~t~e~r~T~w~o

Dean walked into the room and looked at his twin, who was skimming through one of her books. He didn't know where to start. "Marion..."

"What caused you to leave the safety of the Cornwell's home? Why now, after 27 years?" Castiel spoke up from behind Dean.

"Who's this? Another brother I've never met?" Marion asked, smirking as she tried to see around Sam.

Castiel stepped forward, next to Dean. "No. I am Castiel. I'm an-"

"A friend." Dean interrupted. He ran his hand through his hair. "His question might sound invasive and tactless, but it's important. I don't think they just recently let you out of the basement, Mare. So, why escape now?"

Marion threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't know! I just... couldn't be there anymore."

"Why?" Castiel pressed.

"Because of the dreams!" Marion sat on her bed and shook her head. "I kept having these dreams of an old chubby guy telling me that I had to find Dean, that the fate of the world rested on Dean saying 'yes' to something and I had to show Dean God's Grace."

Marion looked up at Dean, eyes glistening. "I thought you were dead, so I just wrote it off as a crazy dream... but then he started getting angry. He told me that the... angels would punish me if I kept ignoring him. He told me to stab Mister in the heart and leave! I couldn't do that. But he made it clear that if I stayed with Mister and Missus, that something very bad would happen to me."

Marion began to fiddle with the hem of her shirt. "One of the books I had was an anatomy text so I was careful to put the knife in Mister's stomach, made sure to miss the major organs and arteries and I ran. I know how crazy it sounds, Dean, and I'm sure I am, but... that's why I left."

Dean leaned over and wrapped his arms around her. "You aren't crazy. I have a million things to tell you, about my life, about that dick who made you stab an old man. I just don't even know where to start." He whispered.

"In the interest of saving valuable hours, may I facilitate the link between the two of you so she might see it herself?" Castiel asked.

"The what now?" Dean asked.

"You are twins. A link between your souls was created when you were in the womb. If I reconnect the link, I could transfer your memories into her. That way, she would know your life."

"Will it hurt?" Marion asked, meekly.

"I'm sure the emotional impact will be tremendous, but physically, you'll be fine. I will keep your memories in their place, though. There is no need for Dean to know your life." Castiel answered.

"Okay." Marion said, after a moment. "I want memories of my dad and baby brother. Let's do this."

Dean steeled himself in preparation for a flood of bad memories. "Hey, uh, Cas, don't give her any, uh, personal memories. You know what I mean?"

"I will attempt to hold back any memories of coitus, Dean, yes." Castiel said, placing a hand on Marion's upper abdomen and the other in the same spot on Dean's torso.

Almost immediately, memories started flowing from Dean and into Marion. Sam watched from the door as tears started rolling down his sister's cheeks. When Castiel pulled his hands away, Marion fell to the floor, face in her hands and sobbing. Dean rubbed her back. "Come on, Sis. My life isn't that bad."

"Mom was murdered! And Dad gave his life to the thing that killed her so that you wouldn't die! And you wasted that gift to bring Sam back! You spent 40 years in Hell! How can you say your life isn't bad?" Marion's shouts were muffled by her hands as she tried to will her eyes to stop leaking.

Dean ignored the question, choosing to turn to Castiel, angrily. "You didn't give her my memories of Hell, did you?"

"I-."

"He did, but it doesn't matter!" She said, pulling her hands away from her face and staring up at Dean. "You spend every moment of your life fighting, but... you gave up. You stopped fighting to bring Sam back to life. And you gave up in Hell. And you..." Marion was breathless as tears continued to fall. She turned her attention to Sam. "You thanked him for this by choosing a demon over your brother, the only family you thought you had left. You bringing about the end of the world is one thing, but how can you redeem yourself for the betrayal?"

Marion's hands found her face again and she slumped over, like she was trying to sink into the tiles. "Mom's dead. Dad's dead. The whole world is full of evil. No one, nothing is safe." She sobbed.

Dean pulled her up off the floor and sat her down on the bed. "I know it's big and scary, what's going down right now, and it's fucked up what the Winchester clan has done to and for each other in the past, but we're gonna get you out of this hospital, we're gonna get you some weapons training and we're gonna figure out a way to gank the Devil."

Marion looked up, catching his eyes in instant contact. "What if I don't want weapons training, Dean? I know you think I'm supposed to be the virgin yin to your man-slut yang, but... what if I want to go get my GED and go to college like Sam did? What if I just want to be normal?"

"You are the ying to my yang. We're twins. Gemini, you know, Remus and frickin' Romulus. And you can't just abandon me. You are a Winchester. You may not have grown up the way we did, but your upbringing was just as fucked up. Just like Sammy, even if you left us, you'd get brought back eventually. Why fight that?"

Marion shook her head. "Dean, I just wanna lay down. I need some time. My head hurts."

"I hate to be the one to say this, but, if Zach brought her, then he's going to be watching her. We don't have much time." Sam warned.

Dean took a deep breath and caught his sister's eyes again. "The life we lead... it's not easy, but since when is life supposed to be? Sammy and me, we have our problems, but we're still close enough to finish each other's sentences. He picked a demon over me, yes, and it jumpstarted the Apocalypse, but I've ignored his whiny ass in favor of a piece of tail before, too. In the end, though, we'll come together, as a family, and rectify this. But you're my missing piece and Zach, he'll take you away from me if I leave without you. We'll never see each other again. Please, Marion. Come with us."

Marion wiped her eyes. "You're just making it seem like a choice, aren't you?"

Dean smirked. "You refuse and I'll have Cas knock you out and fly you out to the Impala. I'd rather you didn't make me do that."

She sighed, loudly. "I've got a bunch of books. I hope your baby has room. I'm not leaving without them."

"We'll take them for now, but there's not much space, so we'll have to drop 'em off at Bobby:s." Dean said, grabbing a heavy stack of books and handing them off to Castiel.

-&*)*&()&#+))%#*()%# *

Marion stared out the small back window of the Impala. There was so much she'd never seen before, but this scenery was familiar. Dean had driven this road before, many times. The trees flashing past were almost hypnotic and she felt herself dozing off.

She knew it was a dream because she could no longer feel or hear the rumble of the Impala's engine. And someone was sitting next to her, someone she'd never met. It was a man with dark blonde hair, wearing loose jeans and an open plaid button-up over a grey t-shirt. "How's it feel to be out of that hospital, Mary? Lock a sane person up long enough, they start to go a bit nutso. The boys got you out in time, though." He said, turning sideways to look at her.

Marion leaned back as close to the black metal as possible. She knew this wasn't exactly real but the anxiety she was feeling was. "Who are you?"

The man smiled and offered her a slice from an orange she hadn't noticed he was eating. "I'd like to think I'm your friend, Marion. Don't worry. I'm not any friend of Zachariah's. To be honest, I'm not really a friend to Dean and Sam, either." He scooted a bit closer to her. "But I'd like to be your friend."

She took the orange slice, but did not eat it. "Why?"

"Because you're different from them, Mary! You were supposed to die! 27years ago, John Winchester was supposed to let Dean steal his attention for a few minutes, and you were supposed to fuck off like 4 year olds do and get hit by a Chevy truck. Instead, you were preserved, taught to fear God and love Him. You've never ganked a demon or purified a spirit. And you don't really wanna start now, do ya, Mary?"

"Please, stop calling me that. It's my mother's name. She passed."

He rolled his eyes. "I know! I'm the one who set Azazel on the path to kill her... and every other mother who's maternal instincts got the better of her. Listen. Marion. Your brothers, they're in the middle of something huge. Bigger than anything they've ever played with. They can't stop it. They were made for ot. Dean, he's going to say 'yes' to Michael. And, Sam, he's gonna say 'yes' too. You... weren't supposed to be here. You were preserved... because the Archangels thought they could use you. But you have no part in this." He moved forward more. "You don't need to be here, Marion. Dean is a big boy. He'll make his decision on his own. So will Sammy. If you want to stay, I can .ake a place for you in the Apocalypse, but if you don't want to be a party to this... I can make your escape route."

He scooted back. "I'll even keep you safe after Michael loses the battle and the Earth is thrown into Chaos. All you have to do, Marion Winchester, is tell me where your brothers are before you go. That simple. Don't answer now. Think about it."

Marion twitched as she woke. She had never pictured Lucifer that way... but she was certain that's who she'd spoken to.

"Bad dream?" Castiel asked, appearing next to her in the back seat. Marion debated telling them the dream, but she just nodded and looked away to the flashing trees. Something told her that Castiel might already know and she didn't want her brothers to doubt her decision like she was apt to do.

"How'd you find us, Cas? Thought you put angel symbols on all of our bones?" Dean asked, looking in the rearview mirror at his angel. He'd never admit it to anyone but himself... and he guessed Marion probably knew, but the way Castiel had given up everything for him, the way he'd risked everything to help Dean, that was a loyalty didn't know existed. So, while the other angels were just 'those dicks', Cas was 'my angel'.

"I assumed you were on your way to Bobby's, so I stood by the road until I heard the Impala approaching."

"That's not creepy." Dean muttered.

"I thought I might be able to assist with Marion's combat training." Castiel seemed a tiny bit nervous as he spoke the words, but only one Winchester noticed.

"I know how to fight. At least, my brain knows does. I have all of these memories of Dad training you and I remember which maneuvers have failed you in the past."

"But your muscles don't know this stuff. Your muscles know how to pick up a book, not a gun. We'll fix that, though." Sam spoke up.

Marion looked over at her partner in the back seat with her. "I'm sure that riding in this little slow machine must be driving you mad, since, you know, you're more used to flying. You could just meet us at Bobby's, if you'd rather."

Castiel gave her an awkward, half nervous smile. "It's fine. I would only be waiting around for you all to arrive. I would rather ride along."

"You stood by the road until you heard the Impala, not even knowing if we were taking this route but you don't want to wait at Bobby's? You're weird, Cas." Dean said, looking away from the mirror.

Castiel just looked away from Dean and focused out the window.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: So, I finally got my laptop up and running again (thank the gods because my phone decided to stop cooperating) which means that updates should come much quicker than before. Once again, thank you to all of my generous reviewers and, you know, keep 'em coming because they are like crack. Without further ado…

C-h-a-p-t-e-r-*-T-h-r-e-e

Marion felt that, under previous circumstances, the state of Singer Salvage and the house in the middle of the property might have made her feel uncomfortable. But with Dean's memories floating around in her head, the junkyard and the neglected house felt like home. A wave of panic hit her as she wondered if a time might come when she couldn't distinguish Dean's thoughts from her own. The angel who sat beside her reached his hand out to grasp hers and a sense of calm washed over her. A relieved sigh escaped her lips.

"That's a neat trick." She whispered, just barely audible. Castiel gave an awkward smile, before disappearing from the car. He was standing next to the driver's side door as Dean parked.

Bobby wheeled out to meet them. He smiled, politely, at Marion. "It's good to finally meet you, girl. Your daddy showed me pictures of you. He swore up and down he'd find out what happened to you." Bobby said, extending his hand.

"Are you kidding? After everything you've done for my father and my brothers? Bobby Singer, you are family!" Marion said, pushing past his hand and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Bobby looked to Sam and Dean, "You told her 'bout me?" He meant, 'You told her about hunting?'

"Not really." Sam stated, pulling his massive frame out of the Impala.

"But she's my twin! She just knows, Bobby." Dean replied.

Marion pulled away and smiled. Bobby didn't return the gesture. "So, she knows about me and all the things I've done for you, becaue she's yer twin? Am I missin' something'?" Bobby asked, as they headed into the house.

"Cas might've bridge the link between our memories. She kinda got a crash course in the History of Dean Winchester." Dean said, shutting the front door behind him.

Bobby wheeled around in front of them. "So, what you idjits are saying is, rather than take the time to explain to yer sister what's been goin' on, you had the angel give her your memories?"

"Just Dean's, Bobby. And I volunteered. I wanted to have memories of my father and brother… a few memories of Mom. Dean held onto those memories. I didn't. I asked for this, Bobby." Marion spoke up.

"Then, you're an idjit, too! Has Castiel ever done this before? Do we know the side effects? Did any of you even ask?!"

Another wave of panic crashed down on Marion. She hadn't asked. She'd rushed into this without thinking. That was so unlike her. Even when she was escaping, she'd taken the time to plan, to ask herself questions. It wasn't like her to-

Her heart rate slowed and a sense of well-being fell on her as a hand moved across Marion's shoulders. She smiled at Bobby. "Do you have any coffee, Bobby? They wouldn't let me have caffeine at the hospital, so I haven't had any in weeks… since I was at Mister and Missus' house."

Bobby nodded, putting aside his upset for the time being. He wheeled into the kitchen and waved for her to follow. Dean started toward the door. "I'm gonna grab those books."

Sam stared at Castiel with his arms crossed over his chest. "So, how do you figure you can help with Marion's training?"

"She can't hurt me. I'm a good training opponent."

"And you being here has nothing to do with the female Dean you created?"

"I don't understand." Castiel said, tilting his head slightly, in confusion.

"Come on! She's a walking nature vs. nurture debate! She's got all our Winchester genes, and she's got all her memories of those God-fearing people who took her and made her the woman she was. 27 years of history books and Jesus. And now, she has all of Dean's memories. 27 years of combat and demons and sex. You're just here to see which side wins the personality conflict." Sam accused.

Castiel stared blankly at Sam. "There is no truth to that. I'm going to help Dean."

"How do you think Dean's gonna react when he finds out that you're pacifying our sister's emotions?"

Castiel turned back to Sam, but said nothing. Sam uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. "She's gotten that anxious look twice in the last 25 minutes. That 'Oh my god. What have I done?' look. Both times, you touched her and , suddenly, she's all smiles."

"You would rather your sister be subjected to an anxiety attack?"

"Maybe she should be panicking, Cas! Maybe the anxiety is her body telling her that what you did was wrong!" Sam whispered.

"I did what was required of the situation. There was no time to explain everything. Zachariah was coming. There is no reversing it. So, it seems a good idea to keep any side effects controlled. I'll stop filling her with grace and happiness only if Marion asks it of me. Tell Dean, if you must, but the panic should subside soon and then I won't have to maintain her well-being." Castiel said.

Sam looked toward the kitchen. "I think if Dean loses her again, it'll be worse than the Apocalypse. Just… try to keep her… her. One Dean's enough." Sam whispered as Bobby and Marion came in, carrying 2 mugs each.

"We didn't make a cup for you, Castiel, because I'm pretty sure angels don't drink coffee." Marion said, a sweet smile on her lips.

Castiel nodded and looked at Sam. "Definitely not Dean." He said, before disappearing in a whoosh of air.

"What was that about?" Marion asked, handing Sam a mug.

"Just discussing the differences between twins. Thanks." Sam said, taking a drink of the coffee.

TTTTTTT*&&**&&**&&**TTTTT

Marion lay on a small cot in Bobby's living room. Dean, Sam and Bobby had all but insisted she take the bed, but she'd refused. She knew she wasn't going to sleep, anyway, so she took the cot while Bobby slept on the couch 10 feet away, Sam slept on the floor next to him and Dean snoozed in Bobby's old bed upstairs. She couldn't sleep because she was scared to dream. Marion didn't want to see Lucifer and she definitely didn't want to see Zachariah. So, she stared at the ceiling and prayed for daylight.

"Why aren't you sleeping? Why are you asking for the will to stay awake?" Castiel asked, suddenly standing over her.

Marion thought, briefly, that it was odd that she hadn't heard the soft whoosh that normally announced his arrival, but she pushed the thought away as she sat up. "Shh! Sam and Bobby are sleepin' right over there! Sit down." She said, patting the bed. Castiel complied, wordlessly. "You can hear my prayers?"

Castiel nodded. "I am an angel of the Lord. I could hear anyone's prayers, if I wanted. Why won't you sleep?"

Marion rubbed her eyes and sighed. "I guess they'd be nightmares. Night terrors. But really, it's angels who want something from me, invading my dreams."

"Zachariah."

"And Lucifer. The bad dream in the car, it was Lucifer telling me that I don't have to be here, that I shouldn't be here. He told me that all I have to do is tell him where Sam and Dean are and he'd make sure that I have nothing to do with this fight. I could go live my own life." Marion shook her head and chuckled lightly. "But that's not really an option. It's a fantasy. I'm a Winchester and this is what Winchesters do. We gank demons." She sighed deeply. "But I don't want to have to tell the Devil that, you know?"

Castiel nodded, but ran his hand down her arm, filling her with grace and tiredness. "If you seem distressed, I will wake you. Sleep is important for humans and you cannot train on caffeine alone."

Marion smiled up at him as her eyes became too heavy to keep open. "Thank you, Castiel. You are amazing."

Marion appeared in a beautiful green clearing in the middle of a wooded area. She bit her lip as her eyes fell upon Lucifer leaning against a tree to her right. "You know, that's adorable! The little crush you're getting on Dean's pet angel. But you know…" He was suddenly right in front of her. "He might have rebelled against Heaven and he might be wearing a meat suit full of emotions and neediness, but he's still an angel, Marion. God didn't give us the capacity to use emotions, so he could never reciprocate. And if he's the reason why you're about to tell me you're staying, you might wanna rethink that."

Marion gulped, nervously, but steeled herself in the knowledge that Castiel was watching and had her back. "I know… that I'm not supposed to be here. I get that. But I am here." She stood on shaking legs and looked up into his piercing blue eyes. "And I am a Winchester. Family is all we have. I'm staying because my brothers need my help. As for Castiel, if angels were emotionless, how would he have felt enough doubt to rebel? How would Zachariah have felt enough anger to blow up Cas? And you… the jealousy you felt about us humans? I'll take my chances."

Lucifer nodded. "Let me know how that works for you." He raised a hand to caress her cheek. "I'll make a place for you in the Apocalypse, don't you worry."

TTTTTTTTTT**&&**&&**&&**&&**TTTTTTTTTTTT

Marion woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Castiel holding a mug out to her. She smiled and sat up, enjoying the warmth of the mug in her hand and the smell infiltration her nostrils. "Thank you, Castiel. Good morning."

"Good morning. You seemed to sleep well, but I thought coffee may be of use, anyway. 2 creams, 3 sugars." Castiel said.

She laughed. "How'd you know how I take my coffee? Can you read my mind?" She joked, taking a sip.

"I could." Castiel confirmed. "But I figured it may be less intrusive to just ask Bobby how you made yours yesterday. There is food made in the kitchen, when you're ready. Protein is important before training."

Marion smiled as she took another sip of coffee. Castiel was so nice compared to Zachariah and Lucifer. She stood and walked into the kitchen where Dean was scarfing down a bacon and egg sandwich and Sam was fiddling with what appeared to be an egg-whites omelet.

"We weren't sure what kinda food the Cornwell's had you on, but we've got some bacon left, some instant oatmeal and whatever pussy greaseless shit Sam's eating." Dean said, his mouth half full.

"Thanks." Marion said, setting her mug on the table and grabbing a bowl to prepare some brown sugar oatmeal. As she waited for it to thicken, she grabbed a piece of bacon from the plate and started munching on it. "Mister and Missus didn't deprive me of things, especially things like this… good ol' American breakfast food. I prefer sausage to bacon, though."

Dean looked at her like she'd grown an extra head. "How can you prefer anything to bacon?! Bacon is the food of the Gods, okay?! It is the best thing to ever be cut off a pig's ass."

Marion smirked. "American bacon is usually pork belly, Dean. And I prefer my pig ground up with herbs and seasonings. Is that so wrong?" She asked, sitting down with her bowl.

"Other places do bacon different?" Dean asked.

"Most other countries use bacon for flavor in their dishes. America is pretty much the only place where you'll find bacon and eggs on a diner menu."

"I did not know that." Sam commented.

Marion took a bite of her oatmeal and smiled. "Well, when the local bookstore ran out of books for Missus Cornwell to buy, I started reading her cookbooks. She had dozens of them."

Dean looked up, quickly. "You tellin' me that you can cook?"

She smiled. "Dean, you get me 2 hotplates, some cookware and a portable convection oven, I will make you gourmet faire. And maybe do something about your cholesterol." Marion said, gesturing to the side of bacon next to his mostly-gone bacon sandwich.

"Hey! My cholesterol is fine." Dean defended.

Marion shook her head. "You know, you sound pretty confident for a guy who's died so many times."

"Not a single time has bacon put me in the ground, sister." Dean said, pointedly stuffing his mouth with the rest of the food on his plate.

"I wouldn't bother, Marion. I've been trying to get Dean to eat better for years. It's no use." Sam said, putting his plate in the sink.

Marion smiled, standing and walking to the sink to clean her bowl. "I've got the advantage of knowing how to cook good food. He won't even know what food he'd normally turn his nose up at." She placed the bowl back in the cabinet and turned to her brothers. "So… training?"

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT&&**&&**&&**&&**

Author's note: All right. We're, like, one chapter away from where I am on paper, so… almost there, folks. We're almost to the point where your reviews might change something in the storyline. Yay.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Okay, I've been doing a lot of writing lately. So, what I said about my writing on paper only being about a chapter away from where I am in post… that's kinda out the window. But it's good stuff, so, I don't feel bad about it.

That said, I'm not the best with fight scenes, so the training part of the chapter, it's not the best. I feel bad because it's not super awesome, but at least I'm warning you beforehand. :)

Now that, that is out of the way… Welcome to Chapter 4!

C*H*A*P*T*E*R**&*F*O*U*R

Marion stood in the salvage yard with her brothers and Castiel. She pulled her pants up by the belt loops and wished that Castiel had taken her with him, or at least asked her size, before flying off to get some clothes for her. The light blue v-neck tee seemed to fit perfectly but the jeans were a size too big.

Marion pulled her ponytail holder tighter to her head, her long hair pulled out of her face, and stared expectantly at the men in front of her.

"Make a fist." Dean ordered, just as Marion was about to open her mouth to ask what they were doing. She rolled her fingers down and locked her thumb over them. "Punch Castiel."

"What?! I can't do that!" Marion exclaimed.

"He's an angel, Mare. You can't hurt him. Punch the damn angel." Dean instructed.

"Isn't this blasphemy? Won't I go to Hell for this?"

"He's fallen. Heaven doesn't care! Just punch him!" Dean shouted. Marion took a quick breath and let her right fist fly to the angel's jaw. "Which knuckles hurt?"

Marion rubbed the knuckles on her first and middle fingers. "These two."

"Perfect! Try it with the left hand." Sam encouraged. Castiel nodded to Marion.

Marion let her fist fly and winced as she came in contact with the angel's nose. Sam smiled, softly. "Your knuckles will harden, eventually. I-"

"Kick him." Dean interrupted.

Marion started to lift her right leg straight in front of her, but Dean shook his head. "A real kick! This isn't ballet, Mare. Kick him right. Like Dad taught me."

Marion's lips tightened in anger, as she threw her leg out to the side to come in contact with Castiel's stomach, making him sway a bit.

"That's good enough for now. This is a shotgun. We use it, mostly, for salt rounds to take down ghosts, but demons don't like salt, either." Dean said, tossing a sawed-off at her. Marion grabbed it from the air, then placed it on the ground.

"Why are you acting this way, Dean?" She questioned.

"What way?"

Marion looked at Sam who nodded, slightly.

"You're acting like Dad." Marion said, confidently.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Dean was glaring as Marion squared her shoulders.

"Yes, it is. You're being cold and rude. You haven't said a single encouraging word since we've been out here. So, yeah, it's an insult." Marion said, losing some of her steam toward the end of her response.

Dean leaned over to pick up the shotgun at her feet. "Well, lucky for you, I don't hear it that way. Dad did what he had to, to keep Sam and me safe." He shoved the shotgun back into her hands. "I'm just doing the same for you."

Marion immediately handed the shotgun to Sam. "I refuse to do this with you if you're going to act this way. If you want to apologize and treat me like your sister and not a soldier, I'll be in the library."

Marion stopped in front of Dean and quickly shot her leg out straight in front of her, coming in contact with Dean's groin. As he doubled over, she walked back toward the house. "And that is a real kick."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Marion sat at Bobby's desk with a pile of books in front of her. She'd pulled down the first 10 tomes in English that she'd found and she was pouring over them, one at a time. She'd heard the Impala's engine fire up about 10 minutes after she came inside and Sam had walked in not long after. Marion heard whispers in the kitchen between Bobby and Sam, but neither had come to talk to her. Strange, how the 'emotionless' angel made her feel more welcome than anyone else.

Marion shook those thoughts away and continued reading. "Enjoyin' my readin' selection?" Bobby asked as he wheeled up in front of the desk.

She looked up and smiled. "I hope you don't mind. I've been reading the same 20 books since I was 17. Well, not quite, but you know what I mean. And there's a lot in these books. Knowledge that Dean couldn't pass to me because he's never read them."

Bobby chuckled. "Only time that boy opens a book is when Sam's life depends on it… or if he thinks it might have nude drawings."

Marion smiled politely, wanting to turn back to her book but not wanting to be rude. Bobby seemed a bit uncomfortable as he cleared his throat. "So, uh, I heard Dean went a little… John on ya."

Marion closed the text in front of her. "I know what my dad was like with them, Bobby. He was less a father and more a General. Dean doesn't get to be that. Not with me."

"Oh, I understand. John being that way is exactly what drove same away from him. Dean should know better." Bobby said, rolling over to a drawer and pulling out a pistol. "What do ya say, I teach ya how to shoot?"

Marion smiled. "Are you sure?"

Bobby handed her the pistol. "Yeah. You may not have spent your childhood here like the boys, but you're John's kid. Besides, I haven't been out much since I've been in this damned chair. You'd be doin' me a favor."

Her smile widened. "Thank you, Bobby. I'd really like that. Where should we go to practice?"

"Somewhere with a ramp. There's a place in Salt Lake I know. You think the angel would take us?"

"I'll ask him." She said, folding her hands and closing her eyes.

"Of course, I'll take you." Castiel said, appearing behind Bobby with a flutter of wings.

"Thank you, Castiel. I really appreciate this." Marion stood and handed the pistol back to Bobby. "Ammo?"

"All over the place, but closest is the bottom drawer." Bobby answered.

Marion grabbed a box of ammunition from the drawer and stood. "Ready!"

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Dean sat on Bobby's couch with a beer in his hand. It seemed mostly forgotten. His sister had said she wasn't a soldier. She knew. She knew that he'd been to the future. She knew that he'd been the leader of a group of soldiers in the aftermath of the Apocalypse. She knew that Sam had said yes… and that she hadn't been there. He couldn't figure out if she'd reminded him of Lucifer (wearing Sam) standing over Dean's corpse on purpose, or if it had just been his guilty conscience that made him cling to that image. He looked up as Castiel arrived with Marion and Bobby. "Where've you been?"

Marion glared and looked away from him. "Thank you for teaching me, Bobby."

"Any time, Marion." Bobby responded, putting the gun back in the desk.

"Wait, Mare." Dean called, standing and walking over to his sister. "I was a dick. I'm not your C.O. I'm your brother. I'm sorry."

Marion smiled, warmly. "I forgive you. You were just trying to emulate Dade. But… with your memories of combat, I have a pretty good handle on fighting and I hit the target every time… even hit the 10 spot twice. You don't have to worry about me, Dean. And you don't have to be a dick just because that's the only way Dad could show his worry for you."

Dean wrapped his arms around his sister and pressed his lips against her forehead. "Thanks for understanding."

She chuckled. "I've got 27 years of you in my head, Dean. I doubt anyone understands you as well as I do."

"Come on, break it up. I ain't havin' this Lifetime Movie shit in my house." Bobby bellowed, but his smile betrayed him.

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

"I'm glad you two are getting along again, 'cause I think I've got a case." Sam said, setting his laptop down in front of Dean.

"Does this really say they ate each other?" Dean asked, a look of disgust spreading across his face.

"Ate each other?" Marion asked, turning the laptop to where she could see it. "How would they even… I don't… wouldn't they be in too much pain? How?"

"Definitely not natural." Sam responded, taking his laptop back.

"So, what could cause two people to do that? Witches?" Marion asked, trying to focus on something other than the images that rolled through her head.

"Maybe. It'd have to be some pretty strong mojo. Nothin' I've ever seen before." Bobby said. "So, what are you doing standin' around here? Get yer shit and get out."

Dean walked over to his duffle and picked up the strap. "Hey, Bobby. Do you mind-?"

"Don't you dare, Dean. I'm coming with you. I'm a good shot and not too bad at hand to hand. Please don't leave me behind." Marion said, grabbing the strap of the duffle from Dean's hand. Dean looked to the room for help, but Bobby looked away and Sam just shook his head.

"Fine. You can come. But don't complain if this one turns out nasty."

"Dean, I remember you stumbling into skin walker sheddings. I can handle… cannibals."

"Whatever. It's your choice. We're gonna have to get you a fed suit… and a badge. Are you sure you don't want to sit this one out and get everything together with Bobby?" Dean offered.

"I'll get a badge for her and overnight it to ya. You can stop at a department store on the way out there. Text me an address to send the badge to when you get there." Bobby said.

Marion smiled brightly and headed out to the car. "Am I right to be worried about this?" Dean asked.

"She'll roll with it, Dean. Can't leave her at Bobby's house forever. I mean, you don't want to be without her, right?" Sam said, patting Dean's shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Marion was laying on the hood of the Impala, staring up at the stars in a cloudless night sky, an Eagles song playing softly on the car stereo. There was a sound of gravel shifting as Castiel stepped onto the shoulder of the road to stand next to the front of the car. Marion sat u and smiled at Cas. "Ya know, I think it's been months since I had a dream that didn't have an appearance from an angel."

"I could leave." Castiel said, with a completely straight face.

"No!" Marion exclaimed, grabbing Castiel's hand. "I mean, you are welcome here. I think I might've even prayed for you to come. If I'm going to have an angel invade, might as well be the angel who I like."

Castiel gave a small smile and then sat down next to her. "I don't recognize this song."

"It's, um, 'Lyin' Eyes' by The Eagles. Dean's not really an Eagles kinda guy so, you wouldn't have heard it. But this is my dream, so I can play whatever I want on his baby's radio." There was a sound of the stereo changing stations and then, it settled on a country song. "When I lived with the Cornwells, I listened to a lot of country. This is Reba McIntire, she's my favorite."

Marion closed her eyes and listened to 'Fancy' for a few more seconds before the station shifted again and 'Holy Diver' started playing. "I'm feeling much fonder of this music now. I didn't even know who Ronnie James Dio was until I got Dean's memories." She looked over to Castiel. "What we did, it's gonna change me, isn't it? It's already starting to."

"It will not change who you are, fundamentally, but… yes, little things, small aspects of your personality will change. I'm sorry. I should have warned you."

"It's okay. I mean, maybe I'm just getting a shot at being the person I would've been if the Cornwells hadn't taken me… I mean, if I hadn't died and they hadn't taken me. I'll just… go with it."

"You… aren't upset?" Castiel asked, surprised.

Marion shook her head. She looked up at the stars sparkling about them. "Why are you so nice to me?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've met a grand total of 3 angels. Lucifer mocked me and tried to use me against my brothers. Zachariah threatened me, made me hurt the closest thing I had to a father. But you… you help me. You fill me with calm when I start to panic. You bring me coffee when I haven't slept well. You were made to be a soldier, just like them, an emotionless servant of God. So, how did you end up so nice?"

"I'm not. I've done many things just like Zachariah does, followed blind orders. I had no concept of nice until I was charged with watching your brother and preventing the opening of the seals." There was a pause. "I suppose I'm nice to you for the same reason Zachariah and Lucifer were antagonistic to you. You are Dean's twin. This makes you important."

"Oh." Marion said, looking down and sliding off the hood.

"Have I upset you?" Castiel asked, following her off the hood.

"No. No, I mean, I should've know. I mean, Dean's the Michael sword. Sam's… whatever misleadingly weapon-sounding name you'd call Lucifer's vessel. I'm just… the twin who should've been hit by a truck. I'm… Castiel, I'd like to be alone in my dreamscape for a while."

"Of course." Castiel said, before disappearing.

Marion Opened the driver's side door and sat down. "That was… unpleasant." A familiar voice said in the back seat.

Marion turned to the white-haired woman in the blue floral print dress. "Missus?"

"You know, they never told us what we were saving you for… but I was positive there weren't going to be any boy troubles where-ever He needed you. I didn't prepare you for this."

"For Castiel? I don't think anything could've prepared me for crushing on an angel… an angel who seems to be crushing on my brother." Marion joked. "I definitely couldn't prepare for that."

Missus patted Marion's hand. "All of your social cues come from your brother's memories. We set you up to fail in the real world. We just never expected you to actually be in the real world."

"Knowing that you're just a dream, I can say this… Missus Cornwell, you got played. You were convinced, by an angel, to steal a child. I shouldn't be here, Cornwell. There is no place for me here. The only reason I was saved was to convince Dean to say 'yes' to Michael. I refuse to do that so I have no place in the Apocalypse. I am only important in the aspect of being an appendage of Dean Winchester! The one angel I've met who doesn't treat me terribly still sees me as just… Dean mark 2!"

"He can't see you as anything else, Marion. He's an angel. You don't think he could actually feel anything for you? I know his vessel is attractive and he's polite and helpful, but there is no chance of you meaning anything to him." Missus said. Pity filled her voice, but cruelty filled her eyes.

Marion glared and pulled her hand away. "I think I'm going to wake up now."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Marion fought her urge to cry as her eyes opened in the back of the impala. "Are we there yet?"

Dean looked into the rearview mirror and tossed a protein bar at her. "3 hours out. Bobby called while you were asleep. He had his guy make you a few . He's going to send them to a motel Sam found off the interstate."

Marion nodded and stitched as well as she could. "Awesome." She looked down at the protein bar, disdainfully. "Any chance we could stop for pie somewhere?"

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Marion stood in front of the female victim's door, in her brand new blue pantsuit. She'd opted out of the visit to the morgue with Dean, choosing to cut her teeth on a simple questioning.

"You ready?" Sam whispered. Marion nodded, taking a deep breath. Sam knocked on the door and waited. As the brunette woman opened the door, Sam and Marion flashed their badges.

"Ma'am. I'm Agent Cliff, this is Agent Wilson. We'd like to talk to you about what happened to you roommate." Sam said. The roommate nodded and let them in. She was in the process of cleaning and packing.

"So… you were the one who found the bodies?" Sam asked.

The woman nodded. She looked like she was trying not to think about it. "There was blood everywhere… and… other stuff." An unmistakable look of disgust crossed her face. "I think Alice was already dead."

"But Russell wasn't?" Marion asked.

"I think he was, mostly, except… he was still sort of… chewing a little."

Sam nodded and made sounds of understanding. Marion to swallow away her disgust.

"How do two people even do that… eat each other to death?" Alice's roommate asked.

"I asked the same question." Marion muttered.

"It's a really good question. Now, the last few days, did you notice her acting erratically?" Sam asked.

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, did she seem… unusually hostile, aggressive?" Sam asked.

"No way. Alice never drank, never even swore. She was a nice girl. And I'm talking, like, a nice girl. Like, she still had her promise ring, if you know what I mean."

"She was a virgin?" Marion asked, trying not to feel upset that she, too, was a 'nice girl'.

"No premarital. I used to wonder how she did it. I mean, you know, didn't do it. It was her first date in months. She was so excited."

Sam turned to Marion. "Apparently, they were both pretty excited."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Sam walked into their motel room, Marion following behind.

"How'd it go?" Dean asked, looking up from the file on his lap and at his siblings.

Sam shook his head. "No EMF, no sulfur. Ghost possession and demonic possession are both probably out."

"Hm. That's where I was putting my money." Dean said.

"Nope."

"I'm still sayin' witches." Marion said, flopping down on one of the beds.

"It's too big for witches." Sam responded, taking off his coat.

"Well, then what, then?" Dean asked, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, dude! At the coroner's… you guys didn't see these bodies. I mean, these two started eating a-and they just… kept going." Dean wasn't even trying to hide his disgust. "I mean, their stomachs were full. Like… like Thanksgiving dinner full. Talk about codependent." Dean took a drink of his beer and grimaced.

Sam sat at the little table and pulled his laptop in front of him. "Well, we got our feelers out. Not much more we can do tonight. All right. I'm just gonna go through some files. Marion is, obviously, catching up on her sleep. You can go ahead and get going."

"Sorry?"

"Go ahead. Unleash the kraken. See you tomorrow morning."

Dean looked confused. "Where am I going?"

"Dean, it's Valentine's Day. You favorite holiday, remember? I mean, what do you call it… uh, 'unattached drifter Christmas'?"

Dean nodded, then shrugged. "Oh, yeah. Well, be that as it may… I don't know. Guess I'm not feeling it this year."

Marion sat up and raised an eyebrow at her twin. "So, you're not into bars full of lonely women?"

"Nah. I guess not." Dean took a sip of his beer and sighed. "What?"

Sam looked over to Marion, then back to Dean. "It's when a dog doesn't eat, that's when you know something's really wrong."

"Remarkably patronizing concern, duly noted. Nothing's wrong." Dean looked between Marion and Sam. "We gonna work or what?"

Marion couldn't help but cast a worried look at Dean. This was so unlike him.

~~~~~~~~~~##########^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, they read about another double suicide and headed to the morgue. As they were heading to the basement, a bald man in a suit walked past. Sam's eyes followed him, hungrily.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Sam said, as the three of them walked through the door.

"Agent Marley, you just can't stay away." Dr. Corman, the round gray-haired medical examiner said.

"Heard you tagged another double suicide." Dean responded.

"Well, I just finished closing them up."

"Dr. Corman, this is my partner, Special Agent Cliff." Dean gestured to Sam, then Marion. "And Agent Wilson."

"Agent Cliff. Agent Wilson. I've finished my prelims. I pulled the organ sets and sent off the tox samples."

Sam nodded slightly. "Great. You mind if we take a look at the bodies?"

"Not at all." Corman opened the door to refrigerator. "But like I said, their… Good-n-Plenties are already Tupperware."

"Super." Sam said, trying to ignore the nasty feeling that jumped into his throat.

The doctor threw a keyring at Dean. "Leave the keys with Marty up front. And please, Lady and Gentlemen, refrigerate after opening." He said, pulling on his jacket and walking out.

Dean smiled and Marion could tell he'd taken a shine to the old M.E. He walked forward and started pulling labeled containers from the fridge and handing them to Sam. As he grabbed the last one and walked over to a metal table, Dean shot a look to their sister. He might have warned her that this case would be gross, and she might have put on a brave face at the time, but the face she wore now said, 'Dean, please don't make me do this on my very first case'.

"Hey, Mare. I know you're eager to get elbows deep in organs, but I'm freakin' parched. I saw a Coke machine on the way in. you mind grabbing me a soda?" Dean asked, pulling out a few singles from his suit pocket.

Marion gave a small sigh of relief and grabbed the bills." Anything for you, Sam" When Sam shook his head, Marion walked out, eager to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^**********~~~~~~~~~~%%%%%%%%%%~~~~~~~~~~

As Marion approached the door to the morgue, a Coke in one hand and a Dasani water in the other, she heard the unmistakable gravel of Castiel's voice.

"You're right, Sam. These are angelic marks. I imagine you'll find similar marks on the other couples, as well."

"So, what are they?" Sam asked. "I mean, what do they mean?"

"It's a mark of union. This man and woman were intended to mate."

As Castiel spoke, Marion's cheeks flushed and a warmth spread across her body. Marion twisted the top off of her water bottle and drained it, before leaning against the wall in an attempt to catch her breath. She knew what she was feeling; she'd felt a mild form of it during her teen years when the Cornwells had allowed her to watch a show called 'Saved by the Bell' and she'd developed a crush on Zach Morris.

But this was a million times stronger than the dream-and-hormone fueled arousal she'd felt toward that fictional character. Her brain drowned her brothers' speaking out but captured every word Castiel spoke like he was wearing a microphone hardwired to her brain.

"Well, your people call them 'Cupid'." Mumbling from Sam. "What human myth has mistaken for 'Cupid' is actually a lower order of angel. Technically, it's a cherub, third-class." Incoherence from Dean. "Yeah, they're all over the world. There are dozens of them." More mumbling from Dean.

Marion took a deep breath and forced her mind to clear. This angel wanted nothing to do with her, he was emotionless and only nice to her because of Dean. Just like Zach Morris, it was useless to pine for him.

She came back to the present in time to hear Castiel say, "We have to stop him… before he kills again." and her brothers agree, incredulously. Marion took one last breath and walked through the door.

"So, what'd I miss?"

"Nothin'. Just… huntin' Cupid, now." Dean said, snatching his soda from her.

"Oh. Okay. Sure." She responded, avoiding looking at Castiel.

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~

The four of them sat in a restaurant that was decorated in pink and red and hearts. Marion was, unfortunately, unable to secure the seat on the end, away from Castiel, so she was analyzing every decoration and sign in the room. The waitress brought a salad for Sam, a burger for Dean, and a chicken piccata over angel hair for Marion, who was thankful for a new distraction.

Dean pulled the top bun off his burger and glanced at Castiel. "So, what, you happen to know he likes the cosmos at this place?"

Castiel searched the room with his eyes. "This place is a nervous of human reproduction. It's exactly the kind of-" His searching eyes landed on Dean's plate. "-of garden the Cupid will come to- to pollinate."

Dean looked at his burger, disinterested, and then pushed the plate slightly.

"Wait a minute. You're not hungry?" Sam asked. This brought Marion's attention to Dean, as well, pulling her from her thoughts questioning how many layers of clothing Castiel had under that coat.

"No." Dean responded. When Sam and Marion continued to stare, he got louder. "What? I'm not hungry."

"Then, you're not gonna finish that?" Castiel asked, reaching across the table to take the plate. Just as he was about to take a bite, he sighed slightly and looked across the room. "He's here."

"Where? I don't see anything." Sam responded.

"There." Castiel pointed out a couple just beginning to kiss.

"The 'same side of the booth' couple over there?" Dean asked.

"Meet me in the back." Castiel said, before disappearing.

Sam and Dean both jumped up quickly to head to the restaurant's back room, but Marion stood slowly. She was sure that she didn't want to be around a Cupid in her current state.

"Cas, where is he?" Dean asked as Marion approached the doorway.

"I have him tethered." Castiel responded before speaking Enochian. "Manifest yourself."

Marion walked in as Dean asked, "Where is he?" and a tall, chubby, nude angel appeared. He hugged Dean tightly.

"Here I am!"

Dean sounded breathless as he called for help. "Oh, help is on the way. Yes, it is. Yes, it is." Marion could almost see where the idea of Cupid as a baby came from, with all the baby talk. Cupid dropped Dean and moved for Castiel. "Hello, you!" Castiel was stiff as Cupid picked him up into the hug.

"This is Cupid?" Dean asked.

"Yes."

"And look at you." Cupid said, setting his sights on Sam. Sam turned to run but Cupid appeared in front of him and wrapped him in a hug, as well.

"Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?" Dean demanded, as Cupid set Sam down and looked, directly, at Marion.

"This is… their handshake." Castiel explained.

Marion put her hand up. "I'd rather you didn't, please. I was raised in a very modest environment. I was taught to feel shame in nudity. Being hugged by someone nude, angel or otherwise, would make me feel… dirty." She said.

"I don't like it." Dean said.

"No one likes it." Castiel said, as the Cupid patted Marion on the head, instead of hugging her, and walked in front of Cas and Dean with a contented smile.

"Mmm. What can I do for you?"

"Why are you doing this?" Castiel's voice cut through to Marion's brain again, forcing her to focus on making her brain clear. She found a counter and sat on it.

"Doin' what?"

"Your targets, the ones you've marked, they're slaughtering each other."

"What? They are?" Marion could tell Cupid was distraught, even across the room with her eyes closed.

Dean didn't seem to notice. "Listen, birthday suit, we know, okay? We know you been flittin' around, poppin' people with your poison arrow, makin' 'em murder each other."

"What we don't know is why." Marion closed her eyes tighter and wished Castiel would just stop talking.

"You think that I- Well, uh… I don't know what to say." Marion opened her eyes a bit as she heard the Cupid sobbing.

"Should… should somebody maybe… go talk to him?" Sam suggested.

Dean nodded and lightly hit Castiel with the back of his hand. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Give 'im hell, Cas."

Marion closed her eyes again and took a deep breath in anticipation of Castiel speaking. "Um… look. We didn't mean to, um… hurt your feelings."

"Love is more than a word to me, you know. I love love. I love it! And if that's wrong, I don't wanna be right!" Cupid said.

"Yes, yes. Of course. I, uh… I have no idea what you're saying." Castiel admitted.

"I was just on my appointed rounds. Whatever my targets do after that, that's nothing to do with me. I-I was following my orders. Please, brother. Read my mind. Read my mind, you'll see."

After a few seconds, Castiel sighed. "He's telling the truth."

"Jiminy Christmas! Thank you."

"Wait, wait, you said… you said you were just following orders?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Whose orders?" Dean was being gruffer than normal.

"Whose?" Cupid laughed. "Heaven, silly. Heaven."

"Why does Heaven care if Harry meets Sally?" Dean asked, as Marion made herself join the room again, opening her eyes and jumping off the counter.

"Oh, mostly, they don't. you know, certain bloodlines, certain destinies. Oh! Like yours." Cupid gestured to Sam and Dean.

"What?" Sam seemed surprised.

"Yeah. The union of John and Mary Winchester- very big deal upstairs. Top priority arrangement."

The rage rolled off Dean in waves. "Are you saying you fixed up our parents?"

"Well, not me, but… yeah. Well, it wasn't easy, either. Ooh, they couldn't stand each other at first. But when we were done with them; Perfect couple."

"Perfect?" Marion put a hand on Dean's shoulder, hoping to calm her twin a bit.

"Yeah."

"They're dead!" Dean yelled, causing Marion to flinch.

"I'm sorry, but… the orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born. Your parents were just, uh… meant to be."

Marion didn't have time to dwell on the fact that she didn't 'need to be born', because the Cupid started singing and Dean pulled away from her to punch the cherub, who then disappeared, as Dean rubbed his knuckles.

"Where is he? Where'd he go?!"

"I believe you upset him." Castiel said.

"Upset him?!"

Marion rubbed her hands down her face as Sam picked a fight.

"Dean. Enough!"

"What?" Dean snapped.

"You just punched a Cupid!"

"I punched a dick!"

Sam looked at Marion, who shook her head vigorously. "Um… Are we gonna talk about what's been up with you lately, or not?"

"Or not!"

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Author's note: Another chapter down. Awesome!


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thank you guys for your reviews and favorites. I'm so sorry it's taken so long. Some family stuff required more attention. But here we are and here you go. This is one of my favorite chapters! R&R please!

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Marion walked down the road, away from the motel. She was trying to keep her mind clear, but she was having as much luck with that as she was with keeping Dean off edge. She couldn't stop thinking about Castiel.

In an act of desperation, Marion flagged down a cab. "Will you take me to the nearest Catholic church, please?"

As soon as she walked into the building, she headed to the confessional. "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been 3 months since my last confession."

"Tell me, child."

Suddenly, Marion didn't know what to say. She sighed. "I assaulted an old man, the man who kidnapped me when I was young. I stabbed him, once. He didn't die. I made sure…" She cleared her throat. "I let my brothers use a stolen credit card to buy me clothes, 3 different suits and 4 pairs of blue jeans. They bought the suits so that I could lie and pretend to be an FBI agent, in order to get information to help people… twice. It's a good cause, but still. I… I disrespected the memory of my dead father once, pretty harshly."

"Is there more, my child?"

"No." Marion tried to find the right words. "Yes… I… I have found myself lusting after one of my brother's friends. I've… I haven't done anything and I-I won't, because he wants nothing to do with me a-and even if he did… sex before marriage? I… I just… am feeling really… the longer I'm around him, the worse it gets."

"It is natural to lust, child. You just need to continue to focus on your relationship with God. It will put you on the right path. For the rest, 3 acts of contrition."

"Thank you, father." Marion said, exiting the confessional.

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Marion walked the 3 miles to the motel, having memorized the streets the taxi took. Marion walked in the door just in time to see Dean and Sam examining a briefcase.

"Hey, Mare. We're about to crack open this briefcase Sam took off a demon."

"A demon briefcase? Sure. What's the worst that could happen?" Marion asked, as Sam and Dean popped open the case and a blinding light escaped.

"Whoa!"

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked.

"It's a human soul." Castiel said, appearing behind them, with a bag of burgers. "It's starting to make sense." He took a bite from a cheeseburger. Marion couldn't help but marvel at the sight of an angel eating.

"Now, what about that makes sense?" Sam asked.

"And when did you start eating?" Dean and Marion asked.

"Exactly. My hunger, it's a clue, actually." Castiel said, around a mouthful of beef.

"For what?" The siblings all asked.

"This town is not suffering from some love-gone-wrong effect. It's suffering from hunger. Starvation, to be exact. Specifically… Famine."

"Famine?" Marion asked.

"As-as in the Horseman?" Sam asked.

Dean threw his hands in the air. "Great. Th-th-that's freakin' great."

Sam looked a little worried. "I thought famine meant starvation, like, as in, you know, food."

Marion's mouth went dry as she tried to remove her attention from Castiel. Famine. Hunger. Starvation.

Castiel shoved another burger into his mouth. "Yes. Absolutely. But not just food. I mean, everyone seems to be starving for something; Sex, attention, drugs, love…"

_Castiel. I'm starving for Castiel._ Marion thought, sitting down at the little table.

"Well, that explains the puppy lovers that Cupid shot up." Dean confirmed, more to himself than anyone else.

"Right. The cherub made them crave love, and then Famine came, and made them rabid for it."

"Rabid's a good word for it." Marion whispered.

"Okay, but what about you? I mean, since when do angels secretly hunger for White Castle?"

Castiel looked down self-consciously. "It's my vessel, Jimmy. His, uh, appetite for red meat has been touched by Famine's effect." He took another bite of burger.

"So, Famine just rolls into town and everybody goes crazy?" Dean asked.

" 'And then will come Famine, riding on a black steed. He will ride into the land of plenty… and great will be the Horseman's hunger, for he is hunger. His hunger will seep out and poison the air' ." Castiel quoted from memory.

_So hot that he knows the Bible by heart. _Marion laid her head on the table, hoping the cold surface might do something for her flushed cheeks.

"Famine is hungry. He must devour the souls of his victims." Castiel said.

"So, that's what was in the briefcase; the Twinkie dude's soul?" Dean asked.

"Lucifer has sent his demons to care for Famine, to feed him, make certain he'll be ready." Castiel said, seriously.

"Ready for what?" Sam asked.

"To march across the land." Castiel answered.

Sam walked into the bathroom while Marion tried to sink into the table while simultaneously trying to calculate how close she could get to Castiel without arousing suspicions.

"Famine?"

Castiel nodded around his burger. "Yes."

"So, what? This whole town is just gonna eat, drink, and screw itself to death." Sam asked, poking his head out of the bathroom, with a washcloth on his neck.

_I'm not the only one. Famine's got something on Sam, too._

"We should stop it." Castiel said, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, that's a great idea. How?" Dean growled.

"How'd you stop the last Horseman you met?" Castiel asked.

Dean ran over to the coat rack and pulled a piece of metal from his jacket pocket. "War got his mojo from this ring. And after we cut it off, he just tucked tail and ran. And everybody that was affected, it was like they woke up out of a dream. You think Famine's got a class ring, too?"

"I know he does."

"Well, okay." Dean exclaimed. "Let's track him down and get to choppin'."

Castiel mumbled in agreement and looked at his empty bag, sadly. Marion could just barely see Sam in the bathroom mirror, he was looking worse. She struggled to stand, the heat in her body making her legs feel rubbery. She made it to the bathroom door just as dean was saying, "Let's roll."

Sam looked at Marion. "You okay?" He whispered, breathlessly.

Marion shook her head, slightly. "Famine got us." She whispered back.

"Shoot for who tells Dean?" Sam suggested, putting the washcloth back in the sink and preparing for Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Marion smiled a little and pushed Sam out the bathroom door. "Dean… I, um… I can't. We can't go."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it got to me, Dean. I think I'm hungry for it…" Sam tried to not say it, but Dean's face showed he knew.

"Hungry for what?"

"You know." Sam pushed.

"Demon blood?" Dean raged. "You got to be kidding me! You got to get him out of here. You got to beam him to, like, Montana. Anywhere but here!"

"It won't work. He's already infected. The hunger is just going to travel with him."

"Well, then, what do we do?"

"You go cut that bastard's finger off." Sam said, looking to Marion to get her to speak up. "But, Dean… before you go, you better lock us down… but good."

Dean turned to Marion. "You, too? Really?! What are you hungry for? Were you an alcoholic, or a meth addict? Oh, I got it! Coffee. You're gonna fill yourself with caffeine until your heart explodes!"

Marion took a deep breath and looked Dean right in the eyes. "I'm a 31 year old virgin who has never been around a single male under 40 with the exception of a priest in training that I did confession to once. And now I'm suddenly in the real world and I spend a lot of time with an angel whose vessel looks like that." She jutted her finger toward Castiel. "What do you think I'm hungry for, Dean?"

"Really? Cas? That's disgusting. Cas, grab me some rope on your next burger run." Dean instructed. Castiel nodded and disappeared.

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Sam looked over to the tub where Marion was tied up. He could tell she was off in another world. "You okay?"

Marion flinched and looked over at him. "Better than you. You look like a junkie… no offense."

Sam chuckled, ruefully. "I… I am. Ruby… she got me hooked. She… I only got clean last time because… because God cleaned out my system."

"I remember. But… you haven't had any. There's nothing to clean out this time. Once Dean and Castiel get that ring, you'll go back to normal. We'll go back to normal."

Sam sighed. "You mind if I ask you something? You can say 'no', if you want."

"Go ahead. Distractions are welcome."

"Is your famine just sex in general or… specific to Cas?"

Marion shifted uncomfortably in the tub. "I wish it wasn't, but it's Castiel. I've had a little crush on him since we got to Bobby's." She looked away, mistily. "I started to freak out… because of the implications of what we did… with Dean's memories. And Cas just reached over and took my hand and filled me with this… warmth… grace. It was…" She sighed, heavily. "So nice. I've never felt anything like it." She chuckled softly. "You think it's blasphemous to lust after an angel?"

"Yeah, but… if you're going to Hell for that, I'll already be there."

"Just focus, Sammy. We'll get out of this. We'll be fine."

Sam chuckled a bit. "Don't call me 'Sammy'."

"Sorry, Sammy. Too many years of Dean sayin' it in my head."

Marion and Sam both flinched and twisted in their binds as they heard the hotel room door open and the dresser outside move.

"Guys? Guys, what happened? I don't think it worked. I think I'm still-" Sam started, as the door opened, revealing two demons.

A female demon walked in and looked directly at Sam. "Look at this. Someone trussed you up for us. Boss says we can't kill you… but I bet we can break off a few pieces."

"What about the girl?" The male demon asked.

"Boss said we don't touch her, at all. Let's just grab the Vessel and go."

The male demon leaned down and broke the handcuffs holding Sam to the sink. Marion screamed as Sam pushed the demon backwards and on top of her. She heard crashing and struggling in the main room as the male demon got up.

"Get him off! Get him off!"

"Sam! Sam, stop!" Marion yelled. She couldn't see him, but she knew what he was doing. There was a sound of breaking wood and then a thud against the wall.

"Wait your turn." Sam said. It barely sounded like Sam.

"Sam, you can't do this. Do you remember last time? You only cleaned up because God cleaned you up, remember?! You can't throw that away!" Marion called.

Sam stumbled into the bathroom and stared down at his sister, blood staining the skin around his mouth. "I had to. Don't you see? I'm not craving it, anymore. I'm not hungry. I can go help Dean get the ring." Sam said, pulling at the ropes binding her.

"This is a bad idea, Sam."

"I can help now!" Sam insisted. A crazy look flashed across Sam's face. "If you come with me to help, you'd get to see Cas."

"That's evil, Sam. Let's go."

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Marion followed Sam to a BigGerson's restaurant on the edge of town. He said he could smell them. As they snuck up on the restaurant, they could hear Famine and Dean talking.

"You're all still starving because hunger doesn't just come from the body, it also comes from the soul."

"It's funny, it doesn't seem to be coming from mine." Dean quipped.

"Yes. I noticed that. Have you wondered why that is? How you could even walk in my presence?"

"Well, I like to think it's because of my strength of character." Dean sounded smug but Marion knew he was faking.

"I disagree. Yes, I see. That's one deep, dark nothing you got there, Dean. Can't fill it, can you? Not with food, or drink. Not even with sex." Famine seemed giddy.

"Oh, you're so full of crap." Dean retorted.

Marion and Sam snuck closer to the restaurant doors as Famine continued. "Oh, you can smirk and joke and lie to your brother, to your sister, lie to yourself, but not to me! I can see inside you, Dean. I can see how broken you are, how defeated. You can't win, and you know it. But you just keep fighting. Just… keep going through the motions. You're not hungry, Dean, because inside, you're already… dead."

It was at this point that Sam stood and walked in. "Let him go!"

Marion took a deep breath in the face of her fear and peeked around the corner into the restaurant. As much as she wanted to run to Dean to help him free himself from the demons holding him, her thoughts filled with Castiel as soon as her eyes fell upon him shoveling raw hamburger meat into his mouth. Marion raced forward, pushing past a demon with enough force to put him into the bar.

She threw herself on the ground in front of Castiel. "My god, it's sexy that you can eat things that'd make a human sick."

"Sammy, no!" cut through Marion's lustful musings. She pulled Castiel's beef-covered face up to look into blue eyes.

"But you've gotta stop. You're an angel, for fuck's sake! Pull it together, Cas. You are loyal to my brother. You sacrificed everything you've known for millennia because of your loyalty. He needs you. Sam drank the blood." Marion sniffled as tears started threatening to fall. "Sam drank the blood and something bad is about to happen. I can feel it. Dean is more important than Jimmy's hunger for meat. Please, Cas. Be stronger than your vessel."

Castiel looked behind him as the demons in the room were pulled from their vessels. Castiel looked at Marion, determinedly, and shoved his left hand into the dish, then stood, munching on the beef. He stuck his meat-covered right hand out, which Marion grabbed and held it to help her stand.

The two turned around in time to see Sam attempting to use his demon-blood-fueled power on Famine.

"I'm a Horseman, Sam. Your power doesn't work on me."

"You're right. But it will work on them." Sam responded, and started to pull the black smoke from Famine's belly. Marion, Dean and Castiel could only stand staring in shock as Sam pulled the demons from Famine. Blood dripped from Sam's nose as Famine slumped over in his wheelchair.

Marion dropped Castiel's hand as he dropped the small amount of mincemeat that was left uneaten. Sam wiped at his nose as he was stared at. "I had to! Don't you see? If I didn't, Dean would have died."

"Dean would've figure something out. He always does." Marion said, wiping her hand on her pants to get the hamburger off.

"No. Guys… I had to." Sam insisted.

Dean looked away. "Cas, can you take him to the panic room at Bobby's?"

Castiel nodded, appearing next to Sam and then disappearing with him.

Marion walked over to her brother as Dean grabbed the ring. "I heard what Famine said, Dean."

"Come on! He was just tryin' to get to me."

"I would love to think that were true, Dean." Marion grabbed his arm and turned him to her. "But I've got you in my head, and I know you're different. Everything that's gone down over the last few years… but I think… I think you gave up in Hell. I think, when you picked up that knife, you died a little, and all those years cutting up souls under Alastair's watchful eyes… and then you get pulled out and Sam chooses Ruby and her power-laced blood over you, pops Lucifer out of jail. You turned off. Shut down."

Dean pulled away from Marion and gave his best stone expression. "Still can't believe Cas gave you those memories."

"Blocked most of them out, but… I remember the first time you had to… But you didn't completely shut down until… you had to go back in time to save mom and dad from Anna. Before I even got here. Dean, you didn't even want to come get me."

"That had nothing to do with you, Marion."

"No. It was completely to do with you. You're so numb, Dean, that you couldn't even be happy that your long-lost twin was alive until Bobby told you to be. Dean, you can't fix this by lying to everyone, saying you're okay."

"It can't be fixed. And if it can't be fixed, there's no point in talking about it." Dean leaned against a booth. "Now, we get to go back to Bobby's and watch our brother detox. And we're not gonna talk about this, anymore."

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It hadn't taken long after being 'beamed' to Bobby's for Marion to venture out of the basement and away from Sam's screams. Between Sam's pleading, Dean's drinking and the general discomfort between her and Castiel, she found herself searching for relief. At the top of the stairs, a bottle caught her eye. She'd never had anything stronger than wine, and never more than a glass or two, but the bottle called to her. She grabbed it and headed out into the scrap yard.

Marion knew she wouldn't like Jack Daniels, so she chugged as much down as she could, all at once, then set the bottle in the shotgun seat of the broken down Chevy she'd chosen. She'd wait until the alcohol kicked in, then she'd drink some more. Eventually, she wouldn't be able to taste it.

"Are you sure that drinking, by yourself out here, is a good idea?" Castiel asked, appearing in the backseat.

"Go away, Castiel. Drinking is not supposed to be a good idea. It's just supposed to make me feel better."

"You don't seem to be feeling better."

"Well, it'll be kickin' in soon, I'm sure."

"I know the situation with Sam is disheartening, but-"

Marion finally turned to him. "The situation with Sam isn't even the half of it! Sam acted exactly the way an addict should. Famine got his hunger up and then dangled his drug in front of him. I couldn't expect him to resist. And he'll be fine in a few days because it was just one hit. Not months of consuming. Sam'll be fine." Marion smiled sadly. "But Dean… I don't think there is a fix for him."

"And you?"

"What about me? You said yourself, the only reason I'm important is because of Dean. But I'm not even important to Dean. Nothing is important to Dean, anymore."

Castiel sat forward. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that you were only important because of Dean. You are important… that was just the only reason I could… put into words."

As the alcohol started to hit her, Marion squinted at him in confusion. "Huh?"

"I do not express emotion well. I most often cannot recognize emotions. I still… can't quite… I am nice to you because… your smile makes me…happy." Castiel said, nervously.

Marion grabbed the bottle and took another few chugs of the brown liquor. "Do you know how confusing you are? I don't even…"

Castiel leaned forward, took the bottle and pressed his lips to hers. Marion just stared at him, too shocked to move. Castiel sat back and set the bottle on the seat next to him.

"After years of watching humans… I hope I got that… right." Castiel said, looking down.

Marion climbed over the seats into the back seat and plopped next to Castiel. "Well, I wouldn't know from my own experience… and Dean's never kissed anyone so sweetly before." She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes contently. "But it felt right to me."

Castiel sat tensely. Marion looked up at him as she felt her head begin to swim. "You know, you can relax. This is supposed to be nice."

"I have a concern." Castiel said. Marion sat up. "I am very fond of Dean. I consider him to be… almost a friend. Am I right to assume that it might be considered disloyal for a friend to engage in a romantic relationship with a friend's sister?"

"I wish I could say that Dean wouldn't care but… he'd be pissed."

"You'd risk Dean's rage to be with me?"

"Of course. You're my Prince Charming." The blank look on Castiel's face told her that she needed to explain better. "When I was growing up, I was only allowed to watch Disney animated movie, only allowed to read the classics. Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Dickens, Bronte sisters… So, I grew up expecting someone to save me. I knew that I didn't belong with the Cornwells. I fancied myself Rapunzel. Kept away from the real world, not really harmed by the evil witch who stole her, but still… damaged. It's one of the reasons I've kept my hair so long. Just waiting for someone to come along and call out 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel'. You…"

Marion smiled up at Castiel. "If you hadn't come and given me Dean's memories… I would never have believed them. I would've thought they were as crazy as the other patients in the psych ward. I would've called the nurses and they would've ghosted. And Zachariah would have killed me. So, you saved me. You are my Disney Prince."

Castiel smiled. "I understand now." He said, before looking up, abruptly. "Dean is coming."

Marion quickly grabbed the back of Castiel's head and planted a quick kiss on his lips before he disappeared.

Dean walked into her eye line just after Castiel left holding a whiskey bottle and muttering to himself. She considered hiding, but chose, instead, to grab her bottle and open the car door.

"There you are! What the hell are you doing out here?" Dean demanded.

"Same as you, apparently. Drinking and praying." Marion said, getting out of the Chevy and slamming the door.

"I wasn't praying. God's a dick. Everyone in Heaven is a dick. Cas is the only person associated with Heaven who's not a dick. I don't pray."

"Oh, you aren't that desperate yet? You aren't feeling so empty that you're willing to seek help from a higher power? Big surprise! Dean Winchester is being stubborn." Marion shook her head and tried to push past him.

"Wow, you're a bitchy drunk, you know that?"

"I don't give a damn, Dean. You're bitchy at your best."

"Whoa. Calm down." Dean said, stepping in front of her. "Look, I'm not gonna lie. What Famine said hit a chord, so did your rant afterward. But right now, there are more important things to focus on. Sam's in the basement hallucinating and screaming. We've got Lucifer and the archangels trying to bring the damn End Times. And my twin sister has a crush on an angel. All more important than how much my life sucks."

At the look on his sister's face, Dean smirked. "Even if I hadn't realized that your hunger was suspiciously Castiel-focused, which I did… Sam started to list off our faults and addictions to get back at us for locking him. Only thing he could list for you was your crush on an angel."

Marion hung her head. Dean put his arm around her shoulders and started walking toward the house. "Aw, don't feel bed. He had a list of flaws for me and Bobby."

She pulled away. "I don't… feel bad, Dean. I had a priest absolve my guilt on this. Especially for someone in my position, it's completely normal to cling to an attractive male. I mean, he's…" Marion exhaled loudly. "I used to spend all of my time around the Cornwells, now I spend all my time with my brothers and Bobby. So… until we start spending time with other… less holy men, I will not feel bad."

"Wow. You got really serious, there. Come on. Let's put our bottles together and get a little silly."

A smirk crept across Marion's lips, as she put herself back in Dean's arms and headed toward the house. It was a good sign that dean knew about her feelings for Castiel, knew that she was unashamed and didn't care. Maybe Dean wouldn't care when he found out. Maybe it'd be better to just tell him now.

"Glad Cas isn't a 'less holy' man, because I gotta say, I think I'd have to kill the guy who takes away my 'Virgin ying'." Dean mused.

_Maybe not._

"You know that it's 'Yin', right? Not 'Ying'."

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Marion was honestly hoping not to find any of the flesh-eating ghouls her brothers were convinced they were going to find. Not because she was scared or had any problems with head-shots. She was hoping, for Bobby's sake, that she wouldn't find anything.

As she sneaked around the outside of a large house on the outskirts of Sioux Falls, a figure stepped out of the shadows behind her.

"Wow. You just jumped right into this hunting thing, didn't you?"

Marion pulled her Glock and turned to the voice.

"Who are you?"

The skinny teen with the blonde curls looked down at herself. "I know… not the best choice but there's slim pickin's in Sioux Falls." She walked forward. "You're Marion Winchester, right? Well, I'm Meg. Reach into Dean's memories. You'll recognize the name."

Marion aimed her gun straight at Meg's vessel's head. "Meg Masters? You killed Jo and Ellen."

"You never even met them. Don't act offended that I killed someone you never met." Meg said, walking forward more. "And you know that gun won't even touch me. All you'd be doing is killing this vessel. I don't think you're gonna want to deal with this poor girl's parents when I flee this meatsuit."

Marion lowered the gun. "What are you doing here? I thought you were following Lucifer around like one of your hell-hounds."

"Well, don't act like I want to be here. Lucifer sent me to possess you."

Marion's eyes grew. "Exoricamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omni -" Marion rambled, before Meg put her hand over her mouth and pushed her into the siding of the house.

"Just not quick enough, Mary. You know, I would expect you to have one of those pretty tattoos or at least one of those nice gold charms. You'd think your brothers would have learned their lesson when I took Sam a few years ago. But, I guess, they just forgot to take you to get yours."

Marion struggled and mumbled under the teenage girl's strong hands.

"They won't believe I'm you? Sadly for you, I'm a really good actor. The only reason Dean caught on when I took Sam was because I disappeared for a few days and killed some people. But I was trying to rattle Dean, then. I'm on recon this time, much less fun. The only problem I could foresee was your boyfriend Castiel seeing past your face, into mine. But lucky for me, I work for the First Fallen. He's got all kinds of neat toys." Meg pulled a silver-colored necklace from her pocket and slipped it over Marion's head. She then smiled, evilly, and threw her head back as a plume of black smoke poured from her mouth and headed to Marion's.

"Wow, it's weird in here. Me, and Dean, and just a tiny bit of Marion."

Meg pulled away from the wall and stepped over the vessel she'd just vacated. She found a window and looked at her reflection. "Eh, not bad. I've had worse vessels. Gotta do something about that hair, though. We look like a Pentecostal Sunday School teacher."

_You can't cut my hair! I've been growing my hair out for years! It'll be a dead give away that I'm possessed._

Meg closed her eyes for a second and Marion felt her rifling through her memories. "Two things, Mary Mary. One, I was totally joking earlier when I called Castiel your boyfriend, but hey, who am I to judge? Not looking forward to bedding an angel, but whatever. Two, everyone is expecting you to change because of Dean's memories. Putting away the Rapunzel theme might just be an example of Dean coming through. See? I got this."

_Please, don't cut my hair._

"Don't worry. It's not gonna be as short and slutty as the real Meg's was."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg had pushed Marion away to the back of her mind. She didn't need that distraction as she walked over to meet with Sam and Dean at Bobby's.

The boys stared at her for a few seconds without blinking. Meg had the barber cut the hair to shoulder length and taken the dark blonde locks to a bright strawberry blonde color. "What?" Meg asked.

"We're trying to find evidence of zombies and you get your hair done?" Dean asked.

"Look, I checked my part of the list. Nada. So, rather than come here and baby-sit Bobby and his wife with Dean, I thought I'd do something constructive. My hair was too long. It kept getting caught on stuff when I was trying to sneak around."

"Whatever. You might not have found anything suspicious but I did. Mrs. Jones turned. She ate her husband. So, yeah. Zombies." Sam said.

"Okay, so, I'll go through the list again, see if there's anyone else about to turn. You guys go talk to Bobby. I doubt he'll hear you, but try." Meg said, starting to walk away.

"Are you okay?" Dean called after her.

"Just worried that I might have missed something." Meg responded.

_They'll figure it out._

_**Oh, sweetie. None of them knows you well enough to tell you've changed. You know them, but they've only known you for a month. Stop hoping for an exorcism.**_

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg watched from the top of a stack of cars as a hoard of zombies chased Dean and Bobby back into the house. _Help them!_

"It's not in my job description. Besides, I'm kinda hoping that Dean-o will end up in a chair like the old man. I gotta go hide in one of these cars. I'm sure Sammy will save 'em soon." Meg whispered, jumping down to hide in one of the junkers.

_If you're supposed to be acting like me, why aren't you taking a shotgun to those zombies?_

_**Because I don't have to. I can sit in here with a knot on my head and they'll assume I got attacked and hid.**_

_What knot?_ Marion asked. Meg responded by hitting her head against the window beside her. The window cracked, but Meg just sighed and leaned back to fall asleep for the illusion of passing out.

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg woke up to Dean pulling the door next to her open. Her hand went to her head. "Oh, man. Did we get 'em?"

Dean pulled her from the car and carried her to the house. "You okay?" He asked, pulling her hair away from the abrasion there.

"I don't see any zombies. We won?" Meg asked, groggily.

"Yeah. Sam and the sheriff got 'em all. How'd you end up out there?" Dean asked.

"I don't really… I stopped by one of the houses on my list. I was being chased… hit my head. They were after me… I don't know." Meg lied.

_Dean! You can't believe this!_

_Meg pushed Marion to the back of her mind and smiled, weakly, at Dean. Dean seemed to search her eyes for a second, before hugging her._

"_You've gotta be careful, Mare. I couldn't stand losing you again."_

"_Oh, don't worry, Dean. I'm not going anywhere."_


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: So, how we liking it? Don't forget to R&R, folks! We've got Dean on the edge of desperation, a relationship started with Marion and Cas, and now Meg shows up to screw it all up! Warning- this is where we're gonna get some sex. Woot! Let's go!

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg sat on the bathroom sink with the shower running, cell phone in her hand. She hadn't been able to carry around a bowl full of blood to contact her superiors, so she was forced to do things the human way.

**Dean distraught. Sam putting on a strong face. Castiel still none the wiser.**

Meg turned off the shower and was getting ready to wrap her hair in a towel when she heard the door being jimmied. She opened the door just enough to see two men in masks holding shotguns on Sam and Dean. After debating whether or not to stop it, Meg decided to sit it out.

"Looking for this?" One of the men asked. There was a sound of a cartridge ejecting from a gun and then a thunk.

"Mornin'." Dean said.

"Shut up. Hands where I can see 'em." The intruder ordered.

"Wait a minute. Is that you, Roy? It is, isn't? Which makes you Walt. Hiya, Walt." Dean said, smugly.

"Don't matter." The second intruder, Walt said.

"Well, is it just me, or do you two seem a tad upset?" Dean asked.

"You think you can flip the switch on the Apocalypse and just walk away, Sam?" Walt asked.

"Who told you that?" Sam asked.

"We ain't the only hunters after you." Walt said before the sound of a shotgun pumping.

"Hear me out. I can explain, okay? Please." Sam begged. Then, there was the sound of a shotgun blast.

"Stay the hell down!" Roy shouted.

"Shoot 'im." Walt ordered.

"Killin' Sam was right, but Dean…"

"He made us and we just snuffed his brother, you idiot. You wanna spend the rest of your life knowin' Dean Winchester's on your ass, cause I don't? Shoot 'im." Walt ordered.

"Go ahead, Roy, do it. But I'm gonna warn you, when I come back, I'm gonna be pissed. C'mon! Let's get this show on the road." Dean shouted.

"Come on, already." Walt said, then there was another blast.

Meg took this opportunity to swing the door open. "What'd I miss, boys?"

Walt and Roy turned in shock, raising their shotguns. "Who the fuck are you?" Walt demanded.

"Well, that's a loaded question." Meg said, walking forward. "See, those two dead schmucks on the beds, they think I'm their sister. But really, I'm just wearing her face." Meg let her eyes go black. "It's been weeks since I got to murder someone. Thanks for showing up." Meg said, before pulling the shotgun out of Walt's hand and shooting Roy in the face. Then, she grabbed Walt by the throat and squeezed until the blood vessels in his eyes burst. Then she threw him on the floor. Surveying the scene, she pulled her phone out and hit the third speed dial.

"Hello?" Castiel's voice came through the phone.

"They're dead! Sam and Dean are dead! These hunters… they shot 'em! I- I…" Meg cried, making real tears fall from her eyes.

"Where are you?"

"Sunlight Motel, SR-80."

Castiel was beside her in half a second. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder. "It will be fine. Heaven will not let them stay dead. They need them to be alive. What… what happened to the assailants?"

"I-I couldn't… they were… they came in here and killed my brothers. I couldn't let them get away with it."

"You killed them? That is understandable, Marion. Let me deal with this. Can I take you somewhere else while I fix this? Bobby's?" Castiel asked, pulling back to look her in her tear-drenched green eyes.

"I can't stay here?"

"I would rather you stay away while I fix this, Marion."

Meg nodded, sadly. "It will be okay. They'll be okay, right? You promise?"

Castiel nodded. "I promise."

Meg attempted a smile and kissed Castiel, softly.

"Please… Bobby's is fine."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg sat on Bobby's couch and waited. It had only been a few minutes between Cas dropping her off and him showing back up. "Dean called. They're back. He has to tell me something. Let's go."

Meg grabbed Castiel's hand and they were suddenly back in the motel room. All trace of her killing Roy and Walt was gone and Dean and Sam were up and moving, already packing. Meg wrapped her arms around Dean's neck. "Oh, my god! I was so worried." She cried.

"The damn Disney brothers can't keep us down. And when I find them…"

"That won't be an issue. It's been taken care of." Castiel responded. "What did Joshua say?"

Dean sighed. "You're not gonna like it."

"What did he say?"

"He said… God doesn't see how any of this is His problem. He says he's intervened enough by putting me and Sam on that plane and by bringing you back. Josh said that's all God is gonna do to help us. We're SOL with this."

Castiel looked lost and dismayed as he leaned against the partition by the door. "Maybe… maybe Joshua was lying."

Meg sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Castiel. Dean was already packed and ready to leave.

"I don't think he was, Cas. I'm sorry." Sam said, finishing his packing.

Meg stood as Castiel walked into the doorway and looked up. "You son of a bitch. I believed in-…" He searched the sky for a while, then reached into his pocket, turning to Dean. "I don't need this anymore. It's worthless."

Meg put her hand on Castiel's shoulder, trying to seem sympathetic. "Cas. Wait." Sam said, before Castiel disappeared.

"We'll find another way." Sam said.

"We can still stop this, Dean." Meg said.

"How?" Dean said, dejected.

"I don't know, but we'll find it. You, me and Marion, we'll find it."

Dean didn't believe. Meg and Sam could both see that. It was made even more clear when Dean dropped his necklace in the garbage and walked out. Meg pulled the necklace out of the trash, then grabbed Marion's bag and walked out behind him. Sam followed them out.

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg sat in the tavern in Blue Earth, shaking her head. She pulled out her phone and made sure Sam was busy with the owner, Paul, at the bar.

**In Blue Earth. The Whore is doing a wonderful job. I'll try to make sure the Winchesters don't fuck it up. It's about to turn bloody here. **

As Sam did shots with Paul, Meg got a text back.

_**If possible, get the Winchesters out of Blue Earth.**_

**Not possible. They're pretty sure there's something going on. They won't just leave. I'll try to keep them out of it.**

Meg deleted the sent and received messages and walked over to the bar. "Come on, Sam. Curfew's coming up soon. We gotta get back to the motel."

Sam nodded and stood. "Can't ignore the curfew."

Paul gave a small salute as Meg and Sam headed out the tavern door.

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg relished being in her own motel room for once. The townspeople had insisted that a woman could not sleep in the same room with two men, even if they were related. She was getting ready to sneak out and, maybe, get some time in with The Whore, when Castiel appeared in her room.

_**Great. More angel smooches. **_"Cas, you haven't been answering the phone." Meg said, bouncing off the bed and walking over to him.

Castiel didn't answer her, grabbing her arms and pulling her into a rough kiss, his tongue entering her shocked mouth. Meg could taste many different alcohols on his tongue, but tequila stood out as the most recent addition.

"Have you been drinking?" Meg asked, when Castiel pulled away and pushed her backwards onto the bed. Castiel was on top of her, kissing and biting at her neck instantly. Meg marveled at how alcohol could turn the angel into an animal.

Castiel pulled back and looked into her eyes. "God doesn't care. He doesn't care about the Apocalypse. He won't care about this." He said, reaching down to the collar of her shirt and ripping it from top to bottom.

"Cas!" Meg exclaimed.

"We are in a relationship. This is how a relationship progresses." Cas said, pulling at the button on her jeans.

"I'm not saying… this is how relationships progress and we've been together long enough to go past holding hands and stealing kisses when my brothers are out of the room. But are you sure you wanna do this?"

Castiel pulled her pants off in one motion. "I'm Fallen. I don't do things I don't want to do, any longer. I want to know what it's like. I want to do this. Now, take off your underclothes."

_**Why not? HEY! Mary Mary! 'bout to fuck your boyfriend!**_

Meg smirked and pulled the scraps of her shirt off, then focused on her bra, while Castiel pulled her underwear down. He stared down at her for a few moments. "You are beautiful." He whispered.

"Thanks. How about we get those layers of cloth off of you?" Meg responded, pulling at his trench coat and trying to kiss him, simultaneously.

Once she got him naked, she took a second to admired him, too. Castiel had picked a good vessel in Jimmy Novak. She made an appreciative sound before grabbing his ass and flipping them so she was on top. She started kissing down his chest, spending a bit of extra time showing her appreciation to his abs and hips. As Meg got to her target and started to do things with her mouth that Marion wouldn't have known how to do, Castiel's hands found her hair. His moans picked up and Meg pulled back and sat up.

"Shh. Motel walls are notoriously thin. And we're the only ones staying here. Don't want my brothers, Dean especially, to know."

Castiel grabbed her shoulders and pushed her to the bed. As Castiel followed what his instincts and his many years of watching humans told him to do, Meg wondered if she should pretend to be hurt when Marion's virginity was taken. She decided to forget the pain and just roll with the pleasure of fucking an angel.

It was no time at before Meg had forgotten about the thin walls of the motel and was moaning loudly. Castiel, however, was only letting out a grunt every once in a while. Castiel put his left hand on the wall to steady himself, and put his right hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving. With a quick last few pumps, Castiel pulled his hand off the wall and wrapped Meg in a tight embrace, collapsing on top of her.

"That was… better than it seemed to be, watching from afar." Castiel whispered.

"Well, I've never watched it, but… it was better than primetime television made it seem." Meg answered. She had to say, it was definitely something amazing to do it with an angel. She sat up, quickly. "Oh, my god! I was so loud! What am I going to tell Sam and Dean?"

"Tell them it was the television. I have to go talk to them." Castiel said, standing. He was almost immediately fully clothed again.

"Okay. I'll talk to you later." Meg was barely able to finish her sentence before Castiel disappeared. "Wow. I was just wham-bammed by an angel."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg grabbed her phone to text her contact that Castiel had completely gone off the reservation and was not a strong supporter of God. She then took a long shower. Meg threw away her ripped shirt and pulled another out of Marion's bag. Then, she headed out the door and over to Sam and Dean's room. As she opened the door, she heard Dean speaking.

"What's starting? Where the hell have you been?"

"On a bender." Castiel replied, his eyes jumping up to meet Meg's, then looking down.

"Did he- did you say 'on a bender'?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. He's still pretty smashed." Sam replied.

"It is not of import. We need to talk about what's happening here." Castiel said. He seemed pissed.

"Well, I'm all ears." Dean said.

"Me, too." Meg said.

"Well, for starters… Leah is not a real prophet." Sam began.

"Well, what is she, exactly?" Dean asked.

"The Whore." Castiel said, bluntly.

"Wow. Cas, tell us what you really think."

Castiel seemed to be getting more annoyed. "She rises when Lucifer walks the earth. 'And she shall come, bearing false prophesy'. This creature has the power to take a human's form, read minds. Book of Revelation calls her 'The Whore of Babylon'."

"Well, that's catchy." Dean responded.

"The real Leah was probably killed months ago." Sam said somberly.

"What about the demons attacking the town?" Meg asked.

"They're under her control." Castiel confirmed.

"And the Enochian exorcism?" Dean asked.

"Fake. It actually means, 'you, um, breed with the mouth of a goat'." While Meg gave a little giggle, Sam and Dean just stared at him. "It's funnier in Enochian."

"So, the demons smoking out, that was just a con? Why? What's the endgame?" Dean asked.

"What you just saw, innocent blood spilled in God's name." Castiel answered.

"You heard all that Heaven talk. She manipulates people." Sam said.

"To slaughter and kill and sing preppy little hymns. Awesome."

"Her goal is to condemn as many souls to Hell as possible. And it's… just beginning. She's well on her way to dragging this whole town into the pit." Castiel explained.

"All right. So, then, how do we go Pimp of Babylon all over this bitch?"

"Give me a minute." Castiel disappeared and then reappeared with a large wooden stake. "The Whore can be killed with that. It's a stake made from a cypress tree in Babylon."

"Great. Let's ventilate her."

"It's not that easy."

" 'Course not." Meg said, sarcastically.

"The Whore can only be killed by a true Servant of Heaven." Castiel finished.

"Servant, like…"

"Not you. Or me. Sam, of course, is an abomination. Marion… not likely." Castiel said, pointedly avoiding looking at her. "We'll have to find someone else."

"What about Pastor Gideon? I mean… I know that sucks, cause she looks like his daughter, but…" Meg suggested.

"That's actually a pretty good idea." Sam agreed. "Cas, can you go get him? I'm pretty sure we'll be shot if we're seen out after curfew."

Castiel sighed, heavily. "Fine."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg made sure to stay out of the fight. She couldn't risk getting splashed with some of the holy water that was sitting on the table or get nicked by any of the silver around the church. She grabbed one of the parishioners, just one, and pulled her out of the room while Dean, Sam and the pastor took care of the Whore, and Jane and Rob. She let the woman get a few punches in, then choked her until she passed out. She got back just in time to watch the Whore shaking and pouring black smoke through a hole in her chest.

_**Guess your bro's back on with his pledge to the angels. The Apocalypse will go just the way they want. Time to give a sit-rep and get the heck out of here.**_

As Sam and Dean grabbed Castiel and Pastor Gideon, Meg excused herself to the bathroom. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number she had been texting.

"Their little angel is broken, distraught to learn that God just doesn't care. Not even acting like an angel anymore. Sam's still trying to find his footing but he's nothing without Dean, and Dean is this close to saying 'yes' to Michael. He's breaking down. So, can I please leave this detail?"

"Let me ask Lucifer." The voice on the other end said. "Come on back."

"Thank you! I'll be back within the next few hours."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Meg sat on the bed in her motel room. She heard Dean take off and Sam call after him, figured it'd be the perfect time to disappear. She threw her head back and left Marion's body.

Marion woke 20 minutes later, in control of her body for the first time in a month. She started sobbing, loud enough that Sam bust her door open.

"Mare! What happened?" Sam asked, sitting next to her and trying to coax her to turn over.

"She said you wouldn't notice, that you couldn't tell. And none of you did. Not one!" Marion sobbed.

"What are you talking about? Didn't notice what?"

"Me!" Marion turned over. "A demon has been wearing me for a month and none of you noticed! Not Dean. Not you. Not even Castiel." Mentioning Castiel made her cry even harder.

"Oh, my… a month? How could we not know?"

Marion pushed her brother's chest, trying to get him away from her. "I don't know! But you didn't. Just… leave me alone."

"No. Sit up." Sam pulled Marion into a sitting position. "I've been possessed. Not nearly as long as you were, but I know. You're in there, screaming, watching while your body is used to hurt the ones you love, to kill. Why… why did the demon stay so long? Was it here to keep tabs on us?"

"Recon. Meg called it 'recon'. She wasn't here to hurt anyone but me. None of you knew."

"We couldn't have. If a demon… wait, we've been in churches. You helped with an exorcism last week. I mean… the demon did. How?"

"Stupid amulet. Meg could act more human. Not be detected."

"Meg?! Meg possessed you?"

"Just like you. Couldn't think to get me some protection from possession? Never crossed your minds, did it?"

"Look, I'm gonna get Cas back here. We need to find Dean and get you to Bobby's."

"No! Please. Please. I don't want to see Castiel." Marion begged.

"Mare. I know you gotta be upset. I was too. I'm upset for you. But we need Cas to take you to Bobby's. We need him to help me find Dean. Can we just do this? And then, you can ignore him like you usually do."

Marion stood and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and turning on the water to splash her face.

"Yeah, Cas. I need you back here. Marion's room."

"I just left." Castiel's voice came through the door.

"We've got two big problems. One, Dean took off. I'm pretty sure I know where he went, but after he's done saying goodbye, I'm pretty sure he's either gonna kill himself or he's gonna say 'yes'."

"This is bad. What other problem is there?"

"Yeah. This one's even worse. Marion just told me that… she hasn't been herself for the last month. The demon, Meg, has been possessing her since… probably the zombie outbreak in Sioux Falls."

There was silence on the other side of the door as Marion turned off the sink and leaned against the wall by the window.

"Marion." Castiel called out.

"Please. Go away, Castiel. I'll stay here while you go find Dean."

Marion turned around when a whoosh of air told her Castiel had bypassed the door. "We need to talk."

"Talk?! I can't even look at you, right now!" She said, turning toward the tiny bathroom window.

"Marion… I didn't know." He whispered, putting his hand on her shoulder. She flinched away.

"If there was anyone that should know I was possessed, it's you."

There was a moment of silence as Castiel moved his hand from her shoulder to her hair, finding a piece and twirling it between his fingers. "I couldn't see her true face. I should have been able to. I found some of her actions odd, but I just attributed it to your rapidly changing situations and…"

"Dean's memories. She told me that you'd all think it was because of the memories changing me." Marion whispered.

"I'm sorry. For not knowing. For…"

"For taking my virginity in a drunken haze while she was in control of my body?" Marion asked, turning and pushing him away at the same time.

Castiel looked away. "Yes. I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"I hope you feel as dirty and low as you've made me feel, Castiel." She said, wiping at her eyes. "Take me to Bobby's and go find my brother."

As Marion opened her eyes in Bobby's study, she looked in Castiel's eyes for the first time. "Do not… ever touch me again."

Castiel nodded in sad understanding and disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Marion sat on the couch in Bobby's study, a large glass of lukewarm Coke in her hand. She'd filled it halfway with Jack Daniels when Bobby wasn't looking and hid the bottle where she could easily get to it.

"Soda can't mask that smell, girl." Bobby rolled up in front of her. "I get that you're a bit messed up right now and I can understand picking up the bottle, but don't try to hide it. You, maybe, wanna talk about it?"

Marion looked up. "I don't know if I'm even gonna be able to talk to my brothers about this."

"Maybe it's better to talk to someone aside from family."

Marion sighed, taking a drink from her cup, then sitting forward. "A few weeks before Meg took me, Castiel and I… we decided to… to pursue a relationship, in secret, of course. We didn't want Dean to know. It was innocent. A few kisses, no tongue, a bit of snuggling when Sam and Dean were already asleep." She tapped her fingernails against her cup. "After she took me, it didn't really change much. Meg wasn't big on… 'angel smooches'. But Castiel got a bit bolder as the month went by… and then he found out that God didn't care. He was made bold by alcohol and Meg was up for a new experience so…"

"You don't need to finish, Marion. I get where you're goin' with this. I understand why you're so upset. Is there anything I can do?" Bobby asked.

"No. It's not something that can be helped. I just… have to get over it."

"I know you're mad… but none of us knew. That amulet made it impossible for us to tell. I wish we had been able to tell, but there really was no way to. I'm not saying you need to forgive the angel, but… it wasn't his fault."

Marion stood up, towering over Bobby in his chair. "She killed two hunters. I would never- and he didn't second guess it. He didn't care. He cleaned it up for her!"

"Roy and Walt?" Bobby asked.

"Yes! He thought that I would take my brothers' deaths as an excuse to murder two hunters. That should have been a bigger red flag than her cutting my hair in the middle of a zombie outbreak. I may forgive him for having sex with her… someday, but I will never agree that it wasn't his fault, because he should have known."

Marion's eyes jumped up as Castiel arrived with Dean in his arms and Sam next to him. Castiel dropped Dean on the couch and stepped aside. Dean started to wake up and immediately looked pissed.

"Great. This is just great. This the part where we try to talk me out of this?" Dean asked.

"No. This is the part where we tell you we're not going to let you do this." Sam said.

Dean looked from Sam to Bobby, then Marion, who was looking at the ground. "Mare? You seem… way sadder about this than everyone else. Everybody else looks pissed."

Marion looked up just enough to catch Dean's eyes. "They are. They're pissed that you are trying to give up when they've been doing everything they can to keep going. I… I could not care less what you do. This is what you were born for. And I've spent the majority of my life locked up away from the real world, so what does it matter if Michael and Lucifer destroy half of the world in their fight? And if you were to leave… at least then, you wouldn't be here to notice that I'm not the girl you've gotten used to."

Dean looked at Bobby and Sam, confused. "What's she talking about?"

"I'm talking about a demon wearing me for a month with no one noticing. I'm talking about my hands being used to strangle the life out of a fellow hunter, to shoot another in the face. Talkin' about my hair, that I had sentimental attachment to, being cut, and my body being used and defiled."

"A demon? For a month?"

"Don't. Don't ask how you didn't notice. And don't apologize for not noticing. I've heard it all from these three. Meg took me when I was looking for signs of zombies. She cut my hair because it was in her way. And then, she spent the next month reporting on you to Lucifer. She killed Walt and Roy after they shot you and then… Castiel cleaned up her mess."

"Why would he…"

"Because I thought I was doing it for Marion." Castiel interrupted.

"You thought you… you covered up two murders for Marion?"

Castiel chose to look off out the window.

"Am I missing something?" Dean asked, standing up.

Bobby, Sam and Castiel all looked away, but Marion caught his eyes again, almost daring his mind to catch up to the rest of the class.

"Wait. You said your body was defiled… Virgin Ying?" Dean asked, quietly.

Marion gave a slight nod, which was enough for Dean to dart over to Castiel and punch him, doing more damage to his own fist then Castiel.

"My sister, Cas?! My damn sister?!" Dean yelled.

Marion grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him away. "We were already in a relationship before Meg took me. Meg was pretending to be me. She had to go along with the… advances."

"You hear that? She didn't even want it?" Dean shouted.

"Stop. I would have… I'm sure. In time. But not under the circumstances. But just like you, just like Sam, just like Bobby, Castiel couldn't tell that she wasn't me. He thought he was experiencing something new with his… girlfriend. And he was drunk."

"Wait. This was yesterday? It wasn't the tv, was it? It was Meg and Cas… this is just so frickin' wrong!"

"I agree. But there is nothing we can do about it now. And you won't have to worry about me forgiving Cas, because you're about to give up and you won't be here to see it if it happens." Marion turned to Bobby. "I can't watch this. I can't see my brother throw everything away. I don't want a front row ticket to the End of the World. Can I borrow one of your cars?"

"You know how to drive?" Bobby asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I remember how to. I'll be fine. Please."

Bobby rolled out of the room as Dean glared at her. "Where do you think you're gonna go? You don't know anybody."

Marion sighed, heavily. "I might not know anybody, but I know somewhere safe I can go. And just like you can't be convinced to stick around… I refuse to watch you kill yourself."

Bobby came in and handed her a set of keys. "Be careful." Bobby whispered.

"I will. You take care of… everyone." She said, kissing Bobby's cheek.

"It's a rusty Mustang. Half a tank of gas."

Marion grabbed her bag and headed out the door. As she tossed her duffel in the shotgun seat, Sam walked over. "Where are you going?"

"I'm not going to tell you either, Sam. I love you, bro. And I love Dean, but… I cannot be here when he… gets what he wants. There's no way you'll be able to keep him from saying 'yes'. And I can't be here for that. I've got my cell. Keep me updated."

~~~~~~~~~~##########~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~**********

Marion smoothed out her shirt as she walked up to the door. He hand shook a little as she pushed the doorbell. The door opened and a bearded man in sweats answered.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Shurley. I know we've never met, but I'm pretty sure you know who I am." Marion said, sticking her hand out to shake his.

Chuck gave a short handshake and walked back inside. "You're the sister, the one who was written out of the book in prequel."

Marion followed him in and shut the door. "Um, Marion. Marion Winchester. I got written back in."

"Not by me." Chuck mumbled, sitting on his couch. Marion sat next to him. "So… where's safer than the house of the Prophet, right? That's why you're here?"

Marion nodded. "My brothers are about to go into a huge fight… a fight that I have nothing to do with. I'm nobody's vessel. So, while my brothers say 'yes' and take out half of the world, I'll be here."

"I knew you were coming. I don't have a guest room, but I changed my sheets and pillow cases. I never make it up there, anyway."

"Thank you, Chuck."

"And… you… you probably don't want to know this but… Dean's not gonna say 'yes'." Marion started to smiled and ask why she wouldn't want to know that, but Chuck took a drink and continued. "But Sam will… and Adam will, too."

"Adam? Adam's dead."

"He was. These are the angels we're talking about."

Marion leaned forward, shaking her head, slightly. "How far ahead have you seen?"

"I've seen the fight. But you really don't wanna know."

"You can't… Chuck, if you don't tell me how this turns out, I will call upon every bit of my brother that's in me until I get my answers."

Chuck sighed, heavily. "Dean is going to interrupt Michael and Lucifer before the fight. Castiel will throw holy fire at Michael… and Lucifer will… blow him up like Zachariah did last year. Then… Bobby goes, too. And then… Lucifer starts beating Dean to death. Until Sam, finally gets control back and after that…. I'm not quite sure. But Dean lives, the world survives."

"Sam and Adam?"

"I didn't see that part, yet, but… I don't think so." Chuck said, sadly shaking his head.

Marion stared down at her lap. Everything would be okay, except her family. The World would be safe, but her family wouldn't be.

"Thank you for telling me, Chuck." Marion whispered.

Chuck stared at her, expectantly. "You aren't going to tell anybody? You aren't gonna do anything with the information?"

She shook her head. "If I told them, they wouldn't go through with it… and that would get rid of the World's happy ending."

"Wow. You're a lot nobler than I thought you'd be. Especially after being possessed for so long. I thought you'd be bitter and angry and more… like Dean."

Marion looked up. "You know about that?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Of course, you did. You probably knew before I even got possessed. And you… you couldn't let anyone know? You couldn't even give a hint to anyone? It's not like Meg being in my body changed the timeline. All she did was report on them."

"I'm constantly being watched. I can't just pick up the phone and call your brother. She was just watching them, ya know?"

"And killing hunters! And fucking…" She let her anger taper off. "I was trapped inside myself for a month, Chuck. It was… a kind of Hell that you will never understand… but it's okay that you didn't tell anybody because she was just watching them." Marion stood and grabbed one of Chuck's bottle from his desk.

"I'm sorry. I should've said something before she… before Castiel…" Chuck started.

"This isn't about that! That hurt… but that's not…" Marion twisted the top off the whiskey. "I would rather not talk, anymore. I'd rather just drink and try to not think."

Chuck nodded and turned on his tv.

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Marion walked down Chuck's stairs and sighed when she saw Castiel. "It's only been 2 weeks since I got here, Castiel. What do you want? And how'd you know where I was?"

"It made sense. You were either coming to the Prophet for safety, or to the Cornwells' home for familiarity."

Marion looked over at Chuck who was passed out on the couch, then headed to the kitchen. Castiel followed. Marion opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. "Fine. I'm predictable. What do you want?"

"Sam had a plan, to say 'yes' and then jump into the Pit."

"It backfired, right? Sam couldn't take back control?" Marion said, pouring herself a glass of juice. "Lucifer is wearing my brother to the prom."

Castiel looked confused. Marion wasn't sure if it was because of the Prom comment or because she knew about the plan. "Yes."

"Remember, Cas. I'm sleeping in the Prophet's bed. Of course, I know. What are you doing here?" She asked again.

"You know, then, that Dean intends to walk right into that fight between Lucifer and Michael, to try to appeal to Sam?"

"And you and Bobby are going to follow him. You still haven't answered my question."

Castiel looked into her eyes, sadly. "Lucifer and Michael… they are very powerful. Even being in the vicinity of the fight is incredibly dangerous. We, most likely, will not survive."

Marion bit her lip. "They're powerful. But I have faith in you guys."

"I… appreciate the faith, but that is not why I am here." Castiel grabbed her hand. "I would deeply regret going to my death with you so upset with me. I came to… beg your forgiveness."

She felt he was quoting something someone had told him to say, but it didn't matter. Castiel may have assumed he was going to his death, but Marion knew he was.

She nodded. "I forgive you. Please. Keep my brother safe." Marion said, getting on her tip toes a bit to kiss his cheek.

Castiel leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Thank you." He said, before disappearing.

"Must've been hard to just let him go to his death, like that." Chuck said, behind her.

Marion turned to him, glass in her hand. "Well, I couldn't fuck up the ending, now, could I?"

"But it still had to suck. I know how you feel about him."

"Look, Castiel had to go. He had to do his thing and help Dean survive. I can't interfere with that."

Marion reached her free hand into her pocket as a burning pain hit her leg. As she pulled out Dean's amulet necklace, which Meg had saved from the garbage can, she realized that it was burning hot. Her eyes moved from the amulet and settled on Chuck. He looked much different than the alcoholic that she'd seen passed out of the couch a few minutes before. He had well-groomed facial hair and his hair was combed. He was wearing all white and, for once, was giving off a holy feeling.

"Chuck? You look…"

"Listen, Marion, it's very important that I write the ending today. Dean is going to need you… to leave. He'll be heading to Lisa's. He'll call you a few times over the next few weeks, but then, he'll settle into a routine there. He'll have the kind of life that Sam wanted. He'll assume the angels got to you. Everything will fall into place. But you can't be there. You don't belong there."

"Because… you wrote me out of the book?" Marion asked, silently asking him to confirm what the amulet was telling her, what her heart was telling her.

Chuck nodded. "You won't have to go back to the original storyline, of course. It's changed, already. You'll go get your GED and go to college in a little town in Northern Florida. You'll get a Doctorate in just a few years and become an expert in the fields of Cryptozoology and American History. You'll get to live a real life, too. You just have to go, start over, and never track down Dean. Do you understand?"

"This is the same thing Lucifer said."

"Lucifer wanted something in return. This is purely for you. You can go to college, make friends, fall in love and start a family with a normal man. Forget that your first love was an angel. This is a golden opportunity, Marion. All you have to do is drive East."

"And never look for him again?" The thought of leaving her twin should have caused her more pain, more pause in the very least. But she knew that Dean would never have a normal life if he had a constant reminder of his old life. And she knew that Dean would never let her have a normal life, either. She could see herself as a college student, as a wife, as a mother. But not in this life, not as a hunter.

"Precisely. What do you say?"

Marion tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but her throat was too dry. She set her glass down and bit on her left hand thumbnail. She sighed and offered her hand.

"It was an honor to meet you… Chuck." She emphasized his name.

"Not very many people get to, Marion. Not many who know who they're meeting, anyway." Chuck said, with a small smile.

"It'll be a neat little story that I'll never be able to tell anyone, ever." She started to get teary as she released Chuck's hand. "Thank you. I know I never did anything to deserve this second chance at life, but… I never stopped believing. You… Oh! Before I go and you invariably disappear again… thank you. For saving Castiel, for putting my brothers on that plane, clearing Sam out. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, go. I've got some writing to do."

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Author's Note: Well, that was a nice long chapter. That's gonna be the end of season 5. Woot! Woot! Read and Review, lovely folks.


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